


OFF: The Unflattering Rewrite

by LordHyper



Category: OFF (Mortis Ghost)
Genre: Amusement Parks, Gen, Metal Farming, Rewrite, Smoke Mining, Surreal, Talking Add-Ons, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-03
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2017-11-28 02:57:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 71,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/669494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordHyper/pseuds/LordHyper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This fan-fic is a rewrite of a game that could be disturbing to some audiences; this fanfic is here to downsize this. This is a fun game for cute children after all. (Crossposting from my fanfiction.net account.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**   _This fanfic is a rewrite of the freeware RPG game OFF, made by a guy named Mortis Ghost. Originally released in 2007 in French, an English translation can be found on the ever popular Starmen dot net forum. Go give the game a try before reading this! Since this is supposed to be a non-serious rewrite, the dialogue won't exactly match up with the game, and this will be less serious (until the latter chapters, of course) than the source material. Anyway, let's get this started!_

**_-OFF: The Unflattering Rewrite-_ **

* * *

_\- This fan-fic is a rewrite of a game that could be disturbing to some audiences; this fanfic is here to downsize this. This is a fun game for cute children after all.-_

_**HyperInuyasha**  presents, in collaboration with  **Unproductive Funtime**  (except not really)..._

**_OFF by Mortis Ghost_ **

* * *

**Enter your name.**

Hyper and Readers

**Are you a boy or a girl?**

Boy  
Girl  
Does it really matter?

**Okay fine. Be a smartass. Anyway, you have been assigned to The Batter, some sort of sports pajama wearing clown. He's on a sacred mission to be a Ghostbuster. Or whatever. Since this is a non-interactive medium, please at least watch this guy and make sure he doesn't do anything too rash.**

* * *

**Chapter 0: The Uninteresting Zone 0**

* * *

A man wearing baseball player garb stood at the entrance of a yellow colored place, surrounded by floating blocks; why he was here other than anywhere else, I don't know.

"Neither do I." The Batter answered.

Fair enough. The Batter walked across a yellow bridge to a building; the only building in Zone 0, to be precise. He took a quick glance around his surroundings; it was just strange seas, as far as the eye could see. The only land in Zone 0 seemed to be the building and its foundations; why anyone would create a land without any use, no one knows. Get your theory pants on, guys!

"Oh, what do we have here?" A cat strode out of the building; he had much more teeth than the average cat, but his intelligent looking smile seemed friendly. "Are you an illusion? I'm fairly certain that you are, considering that I'm the only resident of Zone 0. Yes, definitely. What my your name be, dear figment of my imagination?"

"I am The Batter. I'm here on a sacred mission." The Batter answered in a stoic tone.

"I wasn't referring to you; rather, I was referring to the observers sitting behind the metaphysical fourth wall." the cat looked at the narration, hoping that I would catch it and record it in the story. Which I just did.

"Those are the Readers; one of them is Hyper, the narrator. The Readers can't talk to us, except for Hyper. He breaks the fourth wall in his stories anyway."

Hey, how's it going?

"It's nice to meet you, even if you are nothing more than a hallucination." the cat answered back. "I am The Judge, talking member of the feline species. We felines do enjoy rubbing ourselves upon passerbys; they gawk at us as we adorably size up to them." The Judge walked up to the Batter and started rubbing himself on his leg.

"Stop. You're getting cat fur on my clothes." The Batter said in disdain.

"Hmm? You are not enjoying this playful treatme-"

The Batter shot a cold glance at the cat, his stare looking into his soul. "Step away from my uniform."

The Judge hissed and jumped away from him. "That was rather cold-hearted, wouldn't you say? It was an interesting meeting, nevertheless. I hope we could all meet again, so I could confirm your existence." With that, the Judge teleported up the side of the building, since climbing ladders are for squares.

Speaking of squares, the Batter went over to one of the doors available; a square block stood in front of the doorway. He tried to climb over the block, but to no avail. "This block is obstructing my path." Inside his head, the Batter cursed Mortis Ghost for making him unable to climb over a knee-high block. He tried the other door; he found himself in a small room with numbers engraved on the wall. "Strange..." With nowhere else to go; the Batter decided to exit the room and go up the ladder. The Judge was there, waiting for us.

"Aha, it appears that you and your party are all indeed real. Excuse me for doubting your existence. While we are on this path, do you wish for me to enlighten you with some teachings on the fundamentals of battling? It may serve useful in your quest." the Judge questioned.

The Batter shook his head. "There's no point, really."

"...Ah yes. I do not wish to bore the Readers with my teachings; I already suspect that I'm already exhausting them with my extensive vocabulary... however downsized as it may be." The Judge continued up the building and entered through a staircase on the roof, with the Batter following suit. Inside was a room with floating block switches in the corners of the room, another wall engraved with numbers, and of course, the obligatory knee-high block blocking the staircase to the next floor.

"What's with these switches?" asked the Batter.

The Judge chuckled. "It's my security system. Of course, it's hardly much of a system, considering the hints on the wall; then again, intruders would have to make sense of these clues to delve deeper into my home. Why don't you attempt to solve this problem?" The Judge suggested. The Batter nodded, and, using the hints on the wall, hit the switches in the correct sequence, which caused the block obstructing the staircase to disappear; I would tell you precisely how the Batter did it, but this is a fanfic, not a walkthrough. Our hero followed the feline down the steps and was confronted with another set of switches. "Come now, use that cerebral organ in your head and bring us to the ground floor."

"...Why am I unlocking all of your doors for you?"

"You'll probably find other security systems of this nature throughout your proclaimed journey, so it would be wise to practice with such puzzles in case you run into predicaments." The Batter sighed and went about solving the puzzle.

"Are you satisfied?" The Batter questioned through clenched teeth.

"Oh yes!" The Judge ran down the stairs; the Batter saw the talking cat gorging on a bowl of cat food. "Om nom... the succulent reward reveals itself... hmm... Alma Cat Food. Truly Zacharie has outdone himself."

The Batter did not know who this Zacharie guy was, nor did he care; his attention was on yet another switch puzzle, which blocked the door to the other side of the building. "Could you get rid of this for me?"

"Om nom nom... this food is so splendid..."

"Of course." The Batter groaned. He went through the other available door, which led him back outside. He visited the other room, memorized the numbers on the wall, went back, and inputted the combination on the switches, granting him access to the other side of the building. Outside was a walkway similar to that on the other side, except with a red block in the center.

The Judge came out of the building. "Ah, interacting with that block heals any wounds you've accumulated, restores your competence (aka the equivalent of skill points in this game), and it brings you to the nothingness, a hub world of some nature, which allows you quick passage to the other zones of this world. As you can see, this is a red cube, which contrasts horribly with the color of this wasteland; you'll eventually come across cubes that are the more appealing color of yellow, which merely just heals you. I tend to travel through the zones a lot, with these red cubes as helpful aid. Wait, hold on..." The cat started to cough; he then spit out a hairball with a card inside of it. "Ack... I believe I consumed too much. Anyway, this is a strange trinket referred to as a Leo Card, which gives you passage to Zone 1. I have a spare card myself, so you are welcome to make use of it yourself."

"...Thanks?" the Batter responded, holding the card in his fingertips.

"Right then, I wish the best of luck for your lot; Batter, Hyper, and the Readers." The Judge started back inside before turning around. "Excuse me for this inquirement, but why are you wearing the garb of a baseball player, of all things?"

The Batter glared at him again.

"...Yes, I shouldn't be judging the interests of others, as strange as it may be. Enjoy your travels, my sportive friend and enlightened observers!" With that, the Judge went back into his residence. The Batter calmed down and placed his hand on the red block...

Suddenly, he was in a dark realm. A floral like design was on the floor, with various red points strewn across it; whispering could be heard from all directions, coming from nowhere in particular, filling the Batter's ears; most baffling of all was the words 'WORLD MAP (?)' inching across the floor. "...Mhm hmm. Preeeety neat." He admitted. He stepped on one of the red points; the Leo Card started to react to it. The Batter smiled, placing his hands around his baseball bat weapon. "Hyper, Readers... let's go purify the world."

The Batter disappeared into a halo of light as he entered the true first zone; he thought Zone 0 was pretty lame.

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE**_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**  Are you enjoying this? I hope so. There are currently 24 chapters planned for this rewrite; if I write one chapter a week then this story would take... 6 months to complete. Yeowch. It'll be a fun six months though. Remember to leave reviews, be it compliments, criticism, or death threats!_


	2. The Unreal World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet a new main character, and we also see how weird the world of OFF is.

_The story is now on **ON**._

_**Chapter 1** : The Unreal World_

* * *

A gnarled hand reached for the phone early in the morning, or whatever passes as morning in this world. "Urrrgh... yeah? What the fuck do yo... oh. Y-Your highness? Oh cra- I mean, oh no, I'm sorry. ...Yes? ...Shortage of metal in Zone 3? ...Slow down your highness, and stop drinking.. uh-huh... ..but I don't like the cows and it interferes with my sche... yeah, fine, I'll investigate. ...Fine, I'll keep my jacket closed." He slammed the phone back on its receiver. "God, I have to get to work this early in the morning? What a pain..."

* * *

The Batter appeared on another walkway, this one being light green; light green seemed to be the color of Zone 1's exterior. The Batter walked down the walkway (passing by a red box, which was presumably the way out of the place) as a light rain poured. The baseball playing hero was pleasantly surprised to find actual civilization: a large sign that read 'ELSEN' hung over a train station, where a few men were milling around.

These men were known as Elsens; their bodies were the same (pale and bald), and almost all of them wore a businessman garb. The one closest to the Batter spoke to him, all while taking a gasp of air. "Train #1 is a useful way to get around Zone 1."

"...Thanks." The Batter responded.

"Train #2 hasn't been in use for quite awhile, though."

The Batter was already getting annoyed by the Elsen. "That is useful information, but why are you talking to m-"

"Zone 1 produces all elements essential to life."

"Shut u-"

"However, our work has been, um, hampered by the specters recently."

Something suddenly sparked within The Batter. "Specters? Where are they?"

"I... I know that some are infesting the mines. You can uh, take the train ther-" The Batter was already getting into the train; purification first, talk later.

He wiped his shoes on a mat inside the train before taking a seat. He fidgeted around, thinking about his mission. He glanced outside of the window and saw a baffling sight. "What the-?" Hanging in the cloudy sky were giant words saying, ' **ZONE 1**.'

"Isn't it impressive?" A gasp came from an Elsen sitting in the train. "The giant transparent sign that the Queen's supervisor ordered us to put up surely, uh, impresses visitors. Are you, um, impressed?"

The Batter decided to just ignore him and whistled a tune to himself, while the Elsen got tired of waiting for an answer and just started looking out the window. Eventually, the train lurched to a stop; the Batter exited the train, finding himself at the station, 'DAMIEN.' He continued on a linear path until he saw a small area with a building and two staircases leading down into the world; the path to one of the staircases was obstructed by blocks. The Batter heard a wheeze as he saw an Elsen exiting the building, wearing a miner's hat on his head.

"Uh... a visitor? Um... it's been awhile since we had, um, a visitor." the Elsen rasped. "Well, welcome to the smoke mines. Are you the, uh, inspector?"

"No. I am The Batter, and I've come to eliminate the impure ghosts in this zone." The Batter answered.

"The... Batter? I... are you here to play on Damien's, um, baseball team?"

"...What? No."

"I.. well, might you be a prophet? Or a man of some belief?"

"Something like that."

"Well... welcome to the smoke mines. Um... it's not a very fond welcome though... considering the uh, ghosts in the mines."

The Batter, no doubt wanting to rid any confusion we the audience had (you guys are probably wondering about the Elsens and what's wrong with this world; these will be answered later) about this "smoke mine", so he decided to question the Elsen. "What are these smoke mines?"

The Elsen briefly went back into the building and brought out a diagram showing intricate drawings of mines, tools, and explanations. "Right, you are in the smoke mines of Damien. The miners here go into the mines and, well, using a multitude of tools, unearth pieces of metal, which frees smoke from the earth's crust." He flips over the picture, which showed a detailed explanation on why lung cancer is less worse than not breathing. "By doing this, we bring a steady supply of smoke so that, um, we could breathe. We let most of it flow free in the air, but we bottle some of the smoke up to, uh, send to the other zones.

"As the first of the four elements, smoke is the most important. Because without smoke, people would have no air to breathe."

Yes, that's the explanation for smoke. No, I'm not making this up for the sake of the remake, this is the canon explanation; the manufacturing for the other elements are just as convoluted.

"...Ah. So, about the ghosts in the mines?" The Batter asked.

"Uh yes, well... the ghosts have interrupted our work in the mines. ...I... think you don't have the clearance to enter the main mine shaft. No. I don't think..."

"Hmm, could you tell me where the chief of the specters is?"

"The... chief of the specters?"

"The person in conducting them. If I defeat him, all the other ghosts would disappear."

"Oh. Uh... I'm... not sure about that, but um, one of the miners saw something... strange down the abandoned annex the other day... that might be what you're looking for." The Elsen pointed over to the staircase that was available. "Uh... I guess it's alright if you, um, check it out."

"Alright then." The Batter went over to the entrance and went down its steps. The interior of the Earth was a fine purple, being brightened by lamps along its walls. The Batter walked down the corridor until he reached the end, where he found... "The Judge?"

The cat looked up at him. "Ah, if it isn't The Batter, Hyper, and the Readers. Even though we've last encountered each other 20 minutes ago, I'm ecstatic to see you again. Why are you descending this annex? It just leads to a dead-end; surely the supervisor informed you of this."

"I'm here looking for the chief of the specters." The Batter paused. "Are you him?"

"Surely you jest. No, I am not the 'chief of the specters'. I'm just a frequent trespasser of this spot, as I am quite fond of it. If you're looking for something, this foul-mouthed phenomenon might interest you."

"Shut the hell up. I'm not foul-mouthed." said a small, yet gruff voice. The Judge moved out of The Batter's way, revealing a halo of light floating in the air at the end of the hall.

"I believe that thing is called an Add-On. I've heard many theories on these things; supposedly, these things assist you in battle." The Judge explained. "Try as I might, however, I am not compatible with this Add-On."

"Because you're a damn cat." the Add-On commented.

The Judge rolled his eyes. "Perhaps you can attempt to join forces with it, seeing as you have a different spiritual order than I."

"Okay..." The Batter walked up to the Add-On and poked it; the floating ring discharged a burst of light in response to this.

The Add-On floated up and down in acceptance. "Hm. It seems that you're worthy of my help, despite your appearance."

"Are you insulting my clothes?" The Batter snapped.

"Yes. You look like a clown in that get-up, for fuck's sake."

"..."

"But, it looks like we're bonded now, so I'm forced to stick with you. I'm Alpha."

"The Batter." Alpha floated behind him so that he could start his RPG party member service.

**Add-On Alpha has joined your party!**

"Hyper, why are you announcing the obvious?" The Judge asked.

Because... shut up.

"Well, it's been a pleasure seeing you again, Judge." The Batter gave the Judge a small wave before heading back to the exit, Alpha in tow.

"So, what's the deal with you, Batter?" Alpha asked.

"I'm on a mission to purify the world of these foul spirits."

"You mean the ghosts?"

"Yes."

"Ha. Good luck with that."

The odd pair exited the annex and The Batter went to talk to the Elsen supervisor again. "I didn't find the chief of the specters there."

"That's... unfortunate. Well, I suppose you can investigate the main shaft... the regulations does say that uh, someone can investigate the mine in times of... emergency. So... there..." the Elsen walked up to the blockade of blocks and made them disappear.

As The Batter walked through where the blocks once were, Alpha whispered to him, "You could have just walked in between those blocks."

"regrettably, the universal laws here forbid me from doing so." The Batter answered with a sigh.

"That is the stupidest fucking thing I've heard."

"I know." The Elsens surrounding the main shaft's entrance regarded the two with curiosity as they descended. They emerged at the mine's entrance room, where a few worried Elsens were.

"A-are you... visitors? Be careful, the mine is... dangerous..."

"My head feels like... exploding... from the worry..."

"Please... get rid of the specters... w-we cannot work..."

"Will do." The Batter continued down the mine and ran into the next room. He pulled out his bat, while looking around the room. "Show yourselves, corrupted children, so that I may judge your corrupted souls!"

That's when they appeared; the ghosts appeared in a circle around The Batter and Alpha. The ghosts looked like those silly fake bedsheet ghosts, except not fake at all. Alpha regarded them with disbelief. "These things are a threat? These guys look like they come from a stupid book for children."

The Batter ignored him, looking at the ghosts surrounding them. "Prepare for our judgement."

The Batter sprung into action; he ran up to the first ghost and swung his bat. The surprised ghost disappeared as it was defeated in a single blow. He Wide Angle'd (the Competence version of Tattling, like in Paper Mario) the ghosts with his watchful eyes. "These are Common Specters. They're relatively weak, so they're no threat."

"If you say so." Alpha grunted. The ring flew into one of the ghouls, instantly defeating it. As the two ghost fighters prepared for their next move, the Common Specters swiped at them from all directions, doing a decent amount of damage to the pair.

The fight continued on with its cycle; The Batter and Alpha took out a ghost each and the Common Specters attacked after they made their move. It took around two minutes before all the ghosts were eradicated. "Adversaries purified..." The Batter took a second to catch his breath. He walked up to a yellow floating block on the side and used it to heal himself and Alpha. "Let's continue on then."

The upper path was blocked by, you guessed it, knee-high blocks; this forced them to take the eastbound path. As The Batter and Alpha walked through the maze-like mines, they started to run across more ghosts.

"Ah ah..." A raspy voice shot from the ground along with a hand. A ghoul with a metallic imp body and a tail pulled itself up and coughed up a burst of smoke, which it no doubt sucked up in the ground. The Batter regarded it with disdain as he gave it a Wide Angle. "That's a January. It's a bit tough, but both of us can take it."

"Alright. Take this, you phantom of shit!" The Batter and Alpha took turns hitting the ghoul known as January, while taking punches from him. Eventually, the January was felled. Then, they heard the clattering of teeth down one of the corridors; flying disembodied heads suddenly came at them.

The Batter used Wide Angle again. "Those are Magnolias. They'll give you Chronic Migraines, which will blind you." He took a swing of the bat and whacked one of the Magnolias back down the corridor. "They're not much of a problem though."

"YEEEEE!" one of the Magnolias screeched; it afflicted a Chronic Migraine on Alpha.

"Yargh! I can't see!" the hot-blooded Add-On screamed as he flew around aimlessly. He attempted to ram into the Magnolia that gave it to him, but ended up flying past it. The Batter ran in to help, and by the time he recovered, Alpha managed to deal the finishing blow.

The Batter held up what looked like a prayer slip, which said 'Luck Ticket' on it. "Here, take one." He stuck the ticket onto Alpha and it dissolved into him, curing his wounds.

"Thanks for that. Let's get back to figuring out how to get out of this stupid place." said Alpha. The two wandered around, continuing to run into Januarys and Magnolias; they briefly met an Elsen in the mine, who was trying to carry on with his work. They also found a safe room full of Elsens and scored a box full of Belilal's Meat (which healed status ailments) before getting shushed away. They found several other chests, also containing various items. Eventually, they reached a corridor with a ladder leading upward, while the path that continued further in the bowels of the mine was blocked.

"Nowhere to go but up." The Batter grunted. He climbed up the ladder, with Alpha floating up behind him. They emerged at another landmass of Zone 1, this one having a farmland (or something that's close to a farmland) on it.

An Elsen noticed the two coming up and rushed over. "You... came from... the mines? But it's... d-dangerous in there."

"We know." The Batter responded stoically.

"That didn't stop one idiot from working down there though." Alpha mentioned.

"Oh... then he is certain to uh... get eaten by a grue."

"What?"

"It... it's a ghost that uh, lurks in the dark."

"Oh."

The Batter looked around. "Where are we?"

The Elsen brought out a poster board (like you'd see at a school science fair), looking overjoyed to explain this. "Uh, you're at the metal farmsteads of Pentel." He moved his finger from a map of Zone 1 (which was a bunch of disjointed landmasses) to a picture of farmers and cows. "Here, we raise cows so that the metal boulders inside of them may grow. When cows are properly matured, we cut them in half and retrieve the metal boulders from their cadavers. Um, the useless metal is used to build the ground we walk on, while the more useful ones are used to build the tools and machines we need." He pointed at a map labeled 'The Queen's Land' (which just had a huge question mark on it). "We send some of the metal to the other zones, so that they may construct things too. As the first of the four elements, metal is the most important.

"Because without metal, people would have nothing to walk on. They would fall and drown."

...Seriously Readers, I'm not making this stuff up.

"..I thought smoke was the most essential element?" The Batter questioned.

"...The man who told you that is a liar." the Elsen said without hesitation. "Oh, do you two... fight specters?"

"Yes."

"Well there are... ghosts infesting one of the big barns... it is very um... f-frightening. We... haven't met our metal quota for Zone 3 because of... them. The Queen's inspector will be... here soon... Can you... help?"

The Batter hesitated before nodding. "Okay." The Elsen pointed off to which barn was being infested and The Batter started to head off in that direction.

"Why are we doing this?" Alpha asked.

"...I need to see the Queen's inspector. This might be a good opportunity..." The Batter answered, vaguely. They walked toward the barn. They passed by several Elsens, who were either observing cows or extracting meat from cows that were cut in half (yeah I know it's weird, shut up). There were some Elsens pushing around metal boulders and putting them into piles, preparing to ship some of them to the other zones. When the duo reached the barn, there was a small crowd of Elsens standing in front of it.

"Oh... you're here to fight... the phantoms?" an Elsen asked.

"Yes." Both the Batter and Alpha answered.

"...Ah. P-Please hurry up... before the i-inspector, um, arrives. There are five ghosts in there... good luck." The Batter interacted with a yellow block in front of the barn and entered.

The inside of the barn was a calming blue (The Batter was sure that most building interiors in this land was blue). The cows in the barn were bewildered, getting harassed by large ghosts. "Fat Specters. Much more malevolent than their common counterparts." The Batter commented. Him and Alpha ran at the nearest ghost and started whaling on it.

"Ah ah!" the Fat Specter shrieked; a bubble formed in its mouth and he spat it out. It was a word bubble, with 'Ah ah' inside of it.

"AH AH!" The word bubble cackled as it used Chronic Migraine on Alpha, which successfully hit.

"DAMN IT WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO MEEEEEE-!" Alpha screamed as his attempt to ram the Fat Specter failed miserably because of this. He turned around and blindly rushed at the word bubble; luckily, he managed to hit it and defeated it instantly. The Batter managed to take out the Fat Specter by himself.

"There are four more left. Let's go." The two went back to purging the barn. Despite the strength of the Fat Specters, the Batter and Alpha still managed to defeat them; this was made easier after they defeated the second one, when they both gained new Competence (the healing 'Saving First Base' for The Batter and the offensive 'Saturated Chain' for Alpha). The last of the Fat Specters was hiding inside the barn's basement, floating behind a formation of metal boulders. "...Seems simple enough." The Batter went about solving the puzzle, like Professor Layton. Or something.

"...Fuck this." Alpha simply floated above the tedious puzzle and started Saturated Chaining the Fat Specter.

"...That's one way to solve a puzzle." The Batter said while sweatdropping. By the time he got to the other side, the Fat Specter was purified, but two word bubbles were still floating around; Alpha was flying around aimlessly while spouting a stream of curses, having been blinded yet again. "Here." The Batter threw a Belial's Meat at Alpha, which the Add-On eagerly absorbed, healing his eyesight.

"Thanks. Now come here, you screaming parasites!" Alpha yelled at the word bubbles (whether they were actually sentient or not was questionable). Together, they defeated the word bubbles.

"The barn is now pure." The Batter looked at a pad on the floor. "I think that will bring us back to the exit."

The Batter and Alpha stepped onto the pad and emerged at the barn's entrance. Before they exited, Alpha commented, "Hold up, I can hear someone outside..." And indeed, they could hear a voice different from an Elsen's nervous one...

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE**_


	3. The Unsettling Workplace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here, we meet one of the antagonists. What a loud-mouth.

_The story is now on **ON**._

* * *

_**Chapter 2:**  The Unsettling Workplace_

* * *

The inspector entered the farmsteads from the nothingness. A long coat covered his fleshy, yet skeleton-like body. He clenched his jaw, which was large and possessed many teeth. His eyes glared at the Elsens, who all stepped away from him nervously. "Where is the damn supervisor?"

An Elsen stepped up to him. "Th-That would, um, be me."

"Right then. Can you explain why there's been less metal in Zone 3 lately? Lord Fatass over there needs it, and I really don't have the time to deal with this shitfest." the inspector growled.

"I... um... it all started two days ago..."

"Just get to the point. This stupidity is already throwing my schedule out of whack."

"...Right. Basically, the sp-specters invaded one of our barns. So... we haven't been providing enough metal for Zone 3."

The inspector nodded. "See? Was that so hard to say? Now, show me where the damn phantoms are."

"You shouldn't be worrying about it, um... sir. Someone is... taking care of the problem. As we speak." the Elsen wheezed.

"What!" the hot-headed man exploded. "Do you not know what you're saying? Only the Queen and her Guardians have the power to deal with the shithead ghosts! Where is this clown?"

"I... I'll show you." the Elsen dragged him over to the big bard, which emanated sounds of conflict. "He's... um, been in there for several minutes already."

"...That idiot is going to die." the inspector huffed. He turned, his coat whirling around him. "This is stupid. I'm leaving."

The Elsen blocked his path. "B-But... what about... the specters?"

"Have you ever felt a cow bite before? It hurts like a bitch. Normally I'd risk it, but with all this stupidity going on, I'm pretty sure that I'd have a 100% chance of turning into an idiot, like the rest of you lot. Besides, I have no time for these shenanigans."

"But-"

"Shut your trap. I'm going back to Alma. The people there are more respectable than you fools. And they certainly don't waste your time spouting bullshit."

"I-"

"I command you. Fuck off this instant, if you wish to keep your job."

"S-Sir!" another Elsen appeared to break up the tension. "There are... um, phonecalls for you."

The inspector roared. "You heard him! Get outta my sight!" The poor Elsen finally decided to step out of his way. The Batter and Alpha, who had been eavesdropping the entire time, stepped out of the barn.

"Who was that?" The Batter asked.

"He... y-you're... alive?" the Elsen was in disbelief. "...you must be very lucky."

"That was not luck." Alpha growled.

"We got rid of the specters." The Batter said. He showed no reaction to the Elsen dropping his jaw. "Who was that man?"

"T-that was Dedan... the Queen's royal inspector. ...He is, er, quite frightening." The Elsen stammered.

"That's all I needed to hear." With that, The Batter left him.

"What's the deal with this Dedan guy?" Alpha asked.

"I need to eliminate him." The Batter said in a vague manner. Speak of the devil, Dedan roared from a small building.

"What? There are ghosts in the smoke mines? Why didn't you idiots tell m- the post office? They're there too? For fuck's sake, you Elsens are useless. Why didn't anyone tell me this earlier? ...I'll head to the post office first. That's the place that pisses me off the least." Dedan left the building and stormed over to the smoke mine entrance and went down. Another shout came from him. "Oh, for the love of- who locked this thing?"

While the Elsens were listening to Dedan's frustration with some interest, The Batter was already running. "After him." He said to Alpha. They went to the entrance and descended; they could see that the barriers that were in place earlier were now gone. Without hesitation, they went down the recently opened path. As they went deeper into the bowels of the mines, the lamps got dimmer and dimmer until it was dark; the only light radiated from Alpha, whose circle body provided a glow around him and The Batter. "Lead the way." The Batter encouraged him to go in front.

"What am I, Rudolph?" Regardless of his annoyance, the Add-On led the way anyway. They wandered through the dark, where more Januarys and Magnolias ambushed them.

"Take this, you half-blind pest!" They heard Dedan fighting a phantom deeper in the mine. A ghostly wail was heard as Dedan grunted in satisfaction. "That'll teach you. Hmm... another damn blockade. Where's the switch?" He muttered.

"We need to hide, before he sees you." The Batter hissed at Alpha. They ran around the corner and hid out in a dead-end corridor. They stopped to catch their breaths when they heard giggling.

"Hee hee hee..." Three chuckling ghosts materialized. They had a similar form with the Common Specters; however, there was more life and energy reflected in one of their eyes, the other being covered by an X.

"Half-Blind Specters. These things pack quite a pu-" Before the Batter could finish with his Wide Angle, one of the ghosts swung at his stomach, making the faux-baseball player double over in pain. The Batter looked up in rage, and, using a recently gained Competence, Special Homerun, attacked the ghost with a spiritually charged hit. Alpha started to help out, attacking the Half-Blind Specters with Saturated Chain. The trio of ghosts were quickly dealt with.

While The Batter healed them up with Saving First Base and Luck Tickets, Dedan was heard saying, "The switch is now on ON? Who's the idiot that designed these switches? It'd be a lot easier if it said 'the switch is on'..." he grumbled as his footsteps echoed in the mine.

"The way should be open now." The Batter said. They advanced and followed Dedan's footsteps as the lamps brightened around them.

"...I don't have time to look at your shit! My schedule's already ruined as it is!"

"Ah, well that's disappointing." A new, much more relaxed voice was heard. The Batter and Alpha rushed in, but Dedan had already left; however, there was a different man there. He wore a mask that looked like a mime's face and he wore a shirt with a heart on it. He had black hair and wasn't pale, so he definitely wasn't an Elsen. "Ha ha ha. The characters certainly are piling up, aren't they?"

"Pardon?" The Batter responded.

"There are a lot of characters being introduced this early in the story, and we haven't even met one of them yet proper. The Readers out there no doubt prefer more action, rather than all this mindless talk."

"...Who are you?" Alpha questioned in a confused tone.

"I am Zacharie, the traditional shopkeeper essential in every video game. Although, in this case, we're in a fanfic of a video game." the man said with a chuckle.

"A fanfic?"

"Yes, a fanfic. Although, Hyper prefers to call it a rewrite. As you can see, some characters have their personalities edited. Such as Dedan, who is now obsessed with keeping on an ordered schedule. Never mind his behavior. He was always like that."

"...Are you on drugs?"

"Haha, most certainly not. The Director embargoed me from selling those." Zacharie paused. "Oh dear, it seems that I mentioned another character. I should at least be glad that I only told his nickname instead of anything else important. Keeping characters vague are sure to keep the Readers wanting."

"..." Alpha was at a loss for words, and wasn't even sure what insult to call him.

"Well, I'm glad that we're done blathering, 'Add-On that didn't speak in the original game'. Now, show me the color of your credits!"

"You mean these?" The Batter pulled out wads of paper, which he picked off of the specters they've been fighting.

"Excellent!" laughed Zacharie. "Now, what do you wish to buy?" He showed a list of things that The Batter could purchase; the masked man pulled the things he wanted out of hammerspace. The Batter bought a few types of meat (which all healed status ailments and restored Competence), Luck Tickets, some weapons (Bats for him, Symbols for Alpha; yes, I know this game is weird, stop thinking that), and some defensive equipment. As the two ghost fighters equipped their new gear, Zacharie said, "Pleasure doing business with you. I'll have some new things in stock the next time you see me."

"Next time?" The Batter said with a raised eyebrow.

"As I said, I'm the essential shopkeeper. My presence is always required, and I'm likely to show up somewhere ahead of you. Catch you later, haha..." With that, Zacharie wandered back into the mine.

"What a weirdo." Alpha muttered. When they got everything on, they went into the next room.

An Elsen sat behind a desk in front of an elevator. Upon seeing the two entered, he gasped. "What... w-where did you... how... you came from... the smoke mines?"

"Yes." The Batter answered.

"But... why would you, um... risk yourself... it's awfully dark in there..."

The Batter pointed at Alpha. "He guided me. We came to purify the mines. The ghosts here are quite numerous, though."

"We're also following Mr. Shouty McJerkAss." Alpha grunted.

"Mister... um... what...?" The Elsen stammered.

"He meant Dedan, the Queen's inspector and the man in charge of this zone." The Batter answered. "Where exactly are we?"

The Elsen opened his desk and brought out a folder labeled, 'PLASTIC'. He opened it up and showed the pictures and forms inside. "Hhh... you're at the plastic administrations of Shachihata. Our work involves, um, filling in forms. We wrap the forms in string and send them off to the courier service. They ship the packages and in return, we get plastic. A lot of liquid plastic forms the lakes and oceans, and some plastic is, hhhghh, used to make solid objects. As the first of the four elements, plastic is the most essential.

"Because without plastic, the world would have no boundaries. People would walk and walk without stopping."

The Batter and Alpha stared at him, having intently listened to his explanation. The Batter spoke, "Metal is the most essential element, is it not?"

"I... I have no idea. What you're... talking about." the Elsen replied.

"...Wait just a second." Alpha said. "If the post office already has the plastic, why the hell do you people have to fill in forms and send them? Isn't that unnecessary? And also kind of stupid?"

The Elsen held his head in his hands. "Hhhhhggghhh... stop... asking me these things..."

"Yes, stop." The Batter agreed.

"Wait... um... you two h-hunt the specters... r-right?" the Elsen whispered. "I... I have reason to believe that the specters are coming from, ummm, the postal service. Yes. The postal service."

This immediately grabbed The Batter's interest yet again. "The postal service?"

"Yes. That's w-where we send the forms. M-Master Dedan also has the lift to his office... there. But... no one remembers what floor the postal service is, um, on."

If Alpha had eyes, he would be giving the Elsen a completely deadpan look. "Okay, so not only do you guys go through an asinine process for something you already have, but you people have no idea where you actually ship the forms from? ...Mr. Shouty McJerkAss is right. You people are useless."

"..." The Elsen stayed silent.

"Ignore him. Let's just investigate." They went into the lift behind the Elsen. Instead of the usual elevator puzzles, there was a number pad. The Batter imputed 'one' and went up to the ground floor (he felt a small amount of pity for the Elsen who was stuck in the basement). He and Alpha waited in the elevator before the door slid open with a ding.

"Form 3817, stamp 18394."

"Form 5839, stamp 38592."

"Form 2792, stamp 28894."

The first floor had an blue office full of Elsens - they were all preoccupied with signing piles of forms to retrieve the sought out plastic.

"Hey." Alpha called out, betting on a long shot. "Do any of you saps know where the postal service is?"

"Form 2937, stamp 95032."

"Form 6937, stamp 73913."

"Form 9857, stamp 48056."

"Yeah thanks." He whispered to The Batter, "This is going to take forever."

"Hmm... let's check out what they have on the top floor." The Batter commented. He put in '99999' and hit the button; it would be awhile before they reached the top.

Awkward elevator music played as they ascended."So, why are you out for this Dedan guy?" Alpha questioned as they rode the elevator up.

The Batter wasn't really much for small talk, but he decided to humor the Add-On. "He's the guardian of Zone 1."

"Guardian?"

"Yes. Each of the Zones have a guardian."

"Huh. These guardian people sound important. ...What the hell do they have to do with the ghosts, though? Dedan doesn't seem to be the chief of the specters, even if he's a dick..."

"..." Unfortunately, The Batter chose not to answer him, effectively killing the conversation. It took a few minutes before the elevator reached the top.

The doors slid open, and it revealed a familiar cat on the rooftop. "Ah yes, the ectoplasmic executioners." It was The Judge, grinning at them with the wide, toothy smile of his. "What summoned you to the top of Shachihata's domain? Are you here to admire the gorgeous plastic with me?"

"No. We're looking for the post office." The Batter answered.

"Ah yes. As I recall, plastic deliveries have slowed down the moment this zone's guardian returned to his station; I believe that the specters are plaguing the place as well." The Judge explained. "I don't quite remember the exact floor the postal service is located on, but I do have helpful advice regarding this: an Elsen on the ground floor has been subconsciously mentioning the floor number as a stamp. Heed my advice well." With that, The Judge went back to looking over the edge of the building.

"Alright. Alpha, let's... go?" The Batter saw the Add-On dip over the rooftop; Alpha apparently found that flying down the side of the building was much faster than taking the elevator. "...Very well then." The Batter went into the elevator and started descending, alone. He whistled a tune called 'The Fourteen Residents' as he went downward. Finally, he reached his destination.

"Form 4829, stamp 2848-"

Alpha knocked the Elsen to the floor. "Tell me! Who's the blabbermouth that keeps repeating the same thing around here!"

The Elsen simply brushed himself off and continued without a beat. "Form 4829, stamp 28487..."

Alpha noticed The Batter emerging from the elevator. "This is hopeless."

The Batter turned his head. "What about him?"

He looked over to an Elsen, who, appearance-wise, didn't seem different from the others. But.. "Form 2749, stamp 10258. Form 2750, stamp 10258. Form 2751, stamp 10258..."

"Let's go."

As he walked back to the elevator, Alpha grumbled, "Of course, you find it immediately." But who was he to complain about getting work done faster? He joined The Batter as he finished typing in what floor they were going to. A minute or two of waiting later and they emerged.

The floor they were on wasn't an office; it was full of crates, which were filled with forms and parcels. Smells of plastic permeated from the packages. They were definitely in the post office. However, The Batter could immediately tell something was off. "...Nobody?" The postal service floor was silent. The two heroes cautiously strode through the room, looking over the crates for signs of life. As they neared the staircase to the next floor, someone finally showed up.

An Elsen walked down the stairs, but one could immediately tell there was something wrong with him: he was more frightful than the usual Elsen, and the pitch of his breathing was drastically higher. "...Someone... help me..."

"What's your problem?" Alpha asked.

"...I am very... afraid..." The Elsen let out one last gasp before his head exploded. A stream of condensed smoke and blood flowed out of him, as if he was a volcano. " _Heeelllpppp..._ "

"Holy shit!" Alpha was genuinely afraid.

The Batter's showed no signs of a lowered resolve as he gave the former Elsen a Wide Angle. "That's a Burnt. When Elsens are highly stressed, they turn into this." He readied the new bat he purchased from Zacharie, almost eager to give it a test drive. "Purification in progress." He swung at the Burnt, who would have surely panicked and cried had he stayed an Elsen. The Burnt counter-attacked, punching The Batter in the face. He growled and readied up for another strike.

"...Do I really have to fight that...?" Alpha was a tad guilty; he would hurt an Elsen, yes, but kill one? He pondered this over for a bit before concluding that this would be a mercy kill, as the Burnt was in clear suffering. He rammed into the Burnt, knocking it over. Before it could get back up, The Batter stepped on his stomach, raised his bat over his head, and slammed it down.

As the Burnt began to fade away like all ghosts, an image of its previous Elsen head appeared in the smoke. "Maybe... the suit's taken control of his brain..." With that, the Elsen was gone, leaving behind some blood that had spurted out of it.

"Strange." The Batter commented.

"Well, when a guy's head fucking explodes and he turns into a specter, then yes, I suppose that is strange." Alpha snarked. He paused for a moment. "...Well, what are we waiting for? Let's hunt down Dedan; if he's screaming like usual, then we could find him easily."

Unfortunately, when they got to the next floor, they did not hear Dedan's usual frustrated yelling. Instead though, they ran into another Burnt. "He... hhhhgh... fired... all of us..."

The Batter tilted his head. "What?"

"We were... unattentive. He... hhrgh..." The Elsen made a high-pitched breathing noise. "He blamed us... for the... specters... we did not, haahhh, warn him. And now...  _we join the specters..._ " Just like the last one, the Elsen's head exploded as the smoke escaped his body, metamorphosing into a Burnt.

One short battle later and the Burnt was also down. The Batter noticed Alpha's silence. "Trust me. It's better this way."

"...If you say so..."

They continued on through the rows of boxes. Then, The Batter found something peculiar on one of the desks. "There's something weird written on this... 'First Edition: They are wrapped six feet under, wrapped in hot metal and liquid plastic.'"

"...This is a dumb puzzle, isn't it?" Alpha groaned.

"Probably." The Batter huffed. "Remember what these say, because I have the feeling that we'll find more of them." The two continued through the post office. Other than disgruntled postal service workers, they fought Tiburces, which were rat-like specters that had an attack that drained their competence, which isn't very good. They found more sheets of paper, which bared more weird messages. As The Batter and Alpha found more and more of these, The Batter realized that there was a secret code behind the messages; the numerical value mentioned in the messages make up the code, while the 'Edition' indicated which place the number went into. Alright, so this fanfic is a little walkthrough-ish, so what?

The two then found one normal Elsen, who held up a barricade that blocked a lift. Alpha looked at him appraisingly. "How come your head isn't exploding like all the other sad weirdos?"

"I... wasn't fired. I've been ordered to, uh... guard the secret lift." The Elsen paused. "...There... um, isn't a secret lift. You didn't... hear me say that."

"...Will you let us pass?" asked The Batter.

"No... unless you have... the secret, um, code?"

"The password is 681452." the baseball player clad crusader read off from his memory.

"That is... correct. ...H-how... w-wait..." The Elsen coughed up a thick bit of smoke. "You... I-I-I've been told about you! You.. must not... _PASS!_ " He made one last cough before his head exploded and he went Burnt.

"Not again..." Alpha muttered; at this point, the Add-On had fought so many Burnts that he felt more annoyed than guilty.

Since the Burnt was solo, it didn't take The Batter and Alpha very much effort to defeat him. As the Burnt laid dying, he muttered, "I'm.. heading to Alma... i-it will be nice..." The Burnt then faded away, along with the barricade. The two victors proceeded into the lift, which had only two available buttons (ground floor and Director's Office). The Batter slammed the 'Director's Office' button and the elevator started to rise up to an unknown point in the building.

"...miserable bastards! Piss off!" Those were the first words that The Batter and Alpha heard when they emerged; Dedan was clearly screaming at something. They hurried into the next room, which was a nice office with a desk and pools of plastic on the sides for decoration. Dedan himself was preoccupied with the mass of Half-Blind Specters and Tiburces that surrounded him. "This is my zone! You ain't got the right to be here!" He produced a glowing aura in his hands and threw his fist at the specters; half of the ghosts were defeated in a single blow. He turned his attention to the rest of the unfortunates. "Get outta my sight, phantoms of shit!" He eliminated the ghosts just as easily. "...Huff... My schedule's ruined, there are specters everywhere... how could this get any wors-" He turned and saw the baseball player and the Add-On. "You've gotta be kidding me! It has to be you, isn't it? _It just has to be you!_ "

"Excuse me?" The Batter said; he hasn't done anything to Dedan. Yet.

"You! You're the phantom lord that's brought all these damn specters here!" Dedan ranted. "It took me years to build up Zone 1 to be this prosperous, and I refuse to let you guys ruin it!  _Fuck off!_ "

"You are mistaken." The Batter said, with slight annoyance at being accused of being a specter. "I am a purifier. I'm here to fight the evil spirits."

"What? I wasn't talking to you, you sport-pajama wearing clown!" Dedan snapped, which prompted an angry growl from The Batter. He instead pointed at Alpha. "You! You're the source of all of my problems! Why must you be such a pain in the ass?"

"What." Alpha felt insulted. "I'm not one of those shithead ghosts!"

"How dare you speak back? How dare you copy my mannerisms? You asshole!"

"I'm the asshole? What about you, yelling at those pathetic but undeserving Elsens?"

"They deserve it for being yapping morons! Now shut up!"

"Do you want to start something with me?"

"Bring it on, you piece of-"

"Will you both shut up?" The Batter requested sternly.

"...Hmph. Your clown friend is right. Alright, look, I'm going to make this simple. Get outta my zone, and take your goddamn specters with you... or I'll kill you. Got that?" Dedan started to flash as halos of light surrounded him. "If I ever see you again... you're dead." The angry inspector teleported away, leaving the two alone in his office.

"...There is only one place to go now to get him." The Batter said with a small grin, as he marched back to the elevator.

"Where are we going?"

"We're heading to Alma. We're going to have a proper fight with the guardian of Zone 1." The Batter said as the doors opened.

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE**_


	4. The Purification of Dedan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To Alma we go; now including more stupidity.

_**Author Note:**  (claws my way out of grave) Haha, hello again. Sorry for the wait (as said by a lot of fanfiction authors)._

* * *

_The story is now on **ON.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 3:**  The Purification of Dedan_

* * *

The Batter and Alpha left the post office, running outside to the area's train station. The baseball player looked a bit eager to chase after Dedan, which the Add-On thought was out of character for him. However, he decided not to probe into it, as the Batter was not likely to answer him.

An Elsen, standing outside the station, announced, "The train to Alma is... hhh... available."

"That's rather convenient." the Batter nodded, secretly questioning the convenient timing. Before he could stroll into the giant metal cart, though, the Elsen held out his arm, denying entrance.

"W-wait... it's... dangerous in Alma... specters... the boss is hhh... angry..."

"...If that place is so dangerous, then why is the train there available?" Alpha questioned the pale man.

"...I..." the Elsen started to shake. "I..." instead of becoming a Burnt, like every other Elsen up until that point, he ran away screaming.

The Batter merely shrugged and got into the train, waiting for it to begin its journey.

* * *

Dedan stomped into the entrance room to Zone 1, which was crowded with Elsens - they were in complete a complete uproar.

"M-Master Dedan, there are specters... in the meat..."

"I am very afraid..."

"H-Help us!"

"Shut your traps!" Dedan snapped, instantly silencing the room. "Alright, listen up maggots. This place is going on lock down. Some bastard ghost king will be visiting any moment now." this distressed the Elsens even more, as they started to take even deeper breaths. Dedan, unaware of his employees plight, continued.

"One of you guard the entrance, and some of you guard the pedalos. I'll be dealing with the ectoplasmic pests inside. We're not letting this stupid ghost and his accomplice stomp all over us!" He went through the door leading into Alma's inner sanctum; he briefly popped his head back into the room to deliver one last message. "By the way, if I see him around here, you're all fucking fired."

If that isn't stressful, I don't know what is.

* * *

Minutes after Dedan made his announcement to his employees, our heroes reached Alma. They exited the train, passing under the giant sign that proudly stated the area's name while light rain (which is technically plastic, I suppose) dripped down.

The two ran into the entrance room to Alma. An Elsen, the appointed guard into Alma proper, looked at them as they entered. His eyes widened upon setting them on Alpha's ring body. "I... welcome to... Alma. Before you can enter, you must... hhhgh... answer some rigorous questions."

The Batter diverted his game from him to a set of calendar pages taped to the wall. The papers were intricately made, with detail that you never see in calendars - gratuitous French words dotted the pages as well. "...Do these questions relate to these calendar pages?"

"...Y-yes."

"And are you actually going to let us in if we answer you correctly?"

"...No." he admitted bashfully. "All of this is... formality. Alma is on lockdown and... hhhgh... p-please leave."

"Oh. In that case." without warning, the Batter swung his bat at the Elsen's gut. The poor fellow crumpled to the ground, coughing violently.

" _What the fuck are you doing!_ " Alpha screamed, appalled at what the Batter just did; while the Elsen was plotting to inconvenience them with a calendar puzzle, it was not worth a whack to the gut.

"He was going to turn into a Burnt anyway." the Batter huffed. "Look."

Smoke started to stream out of the Elsen's mouth as his head darkened, as if he was burning to a crisp. "You... you bear me much ill-will!" The head promptly exploded as the Elsen went Burnt. The Burnt lunged at the Batter, but at this point, the baseball player was strong enough to defeat him with a second blow. The enemy, slumped against a wall and only wheezed once more before he disappeared.

"...What is wrong with you?" the Add-On questioned.

"It was necessary." the Batter responded with indifference, advancing through the door the Elsen guarded.

The first thing to hit the Batter was the smell of fresh meats. The smells radiated from pools warm meat, surrounded by green platforms and buildings. Beef and pork and chicken spun in their pools of sauce and marinade, ready to be harvested.

If you're a vegetarian, I'm sorry.

There was another Elsen, a guide of sorts, who walked up to greet them. He was clearly baffled by their appearance. "V-Visitors...? But we're on... hhh... welcome."

"...Are you going to offer the usual explanation?" the Batter asked.

"The what...?"

"The explanation for this." he gestured at the pools of meat.

"...Oh. Y-yes." the Elsen guided them down a green walkway, talking and pointing at the pools. "We are in the meat fountains of Alma, in the heart of Zone 1. Here, we workers seize the various meats that are spewed from the ground, deep within the earth. We collect the meat and send it off to the other zones, so that their inhabitants may eat and get precious nutrients and vitamins. As the first element, meat is the most essential.

"Because without meat, people would starve. They would fall dead one after the other."

The heroes did not bother to question the authenticity of meat being the 'most essential element'. Alpha floated over one of the pools before looking (?) at their guide. "That doesn't explain why the meat is in the fucking ground."

"...S-save your questions for the end of the tour."

"Of course. Let's just leave everything vague."

"Yes. That is how... we prefer things."

As they strolled along the meat, the Batter looked ahead and saw a towering green building, with the usual gate of impassable blocks in front of it. "What is that building?"

"T-that is the office of M-Master... hhh... Dedan,.. N-nobody has e-ever visited him in his office in... hhhhgh... recent memory... hhh..hold on..." the Elsen turned to look at them with a raised eyebrow. "Um... who are you two.. exactly?"

"I am the Batter and this is Alpha. We're here to liberate the world of malignancy."

"L-liberators...?" he fidgeted around. "Um... well, then.. can you liberate me?" Without warning, his head exploding, releasing the smoke within.

"Not again." Alpha said as he watched his transformation. From the sky, two Tiburces descended, having sensed the fight that was going to occur. The two purifiers charged into yet another battle while ragtime music played.

The trio of specters were soundly defeated, but the Elsen lingered around for a bit longer. The Elsen rasped, "Perhaps... it's better this way." Then, he disappeared, joining the two Tiburces.

The Batter and Alpha proceeded up the walkway when they saw the silhouette of a man - they approached cautiously. "Hahaha! The meat fountain of Alma is marvelous, isn't it?" Upon closer inspection, the man turned out to be Zacharie, the fourth-wall breaking shopkeeper from earlier, keeping his promise to return. "It's a shame that this is only a story. The more carnivorous of our readers would appreciate the sights and smells of this area."

"...How did you get in here." The Batter asked bluntly.

"Does it matter when I've got new gear for you? Come, forego all questions and upgrade your equipment!" The Batter shrugged and indulged him, getting new gear for him and Alpha, as well as a few Luck Tickets and meats.

After getting his new equipment, Alpha had attempted to fly over the barrier guarding Dedan's office. Somehow, despite floating directly above them, he got stuck - maybe the blocks are magic or something. "Hey, Mask Dork."

"Yes?"

"How are we supposed to bust into this place and kick the guy's ass?"

"Hmmm... I'm not allowed to say. I'm contracted to only give a single hint, and I'm saving that bit for later." Zacharie answered. "Try looking around. I'm sure there's some vague clue around this place."

"Right. Let's head on, Alpha." The Batter said. They left the salesman to his own devices and they took a pathway that wound around the building. They were met with an Elsen, who was standing in front of a button in the shape of a bird. The man did not seem to notice them, muttering to himself and sweating.

"We don't work hard enough we don't work hard enough..."

"Excuse me..."

"...We don't...  _work... hhhhhg... hard... enough!_ " Once again, the Elsen turned into a Burnt, and two Tiburces heralded his transformation by floating down from the sky.

"This is going to be repetitive." He sighed, sensing that they'll be fighting a lot more Burnts from here.

Blah blah blah, specters are defeated. "We don't work hard enough..." the Elsen repeated as he faded away.

"These guys really need to calm the hell down." Alpha grunted. "There should be a union. Or whatever the hell they call it."

...Actually, that's a good idea, Alpha.

"What?"

That does it then. You and the Batter are now the leaders of a union.

"What."

Come on. This is a rewrite, and a rather unflattering one at that. I can do whatever I want as long as it all fits in the overall plot and conventions.

"You can't do this." the Batter growled at I, the narrator.

Then, somebody walked in to come to my defense. "He's right." Zacharie intervened. "This is his story, and he has already mutated some concepts in this story."

Thank you Zacharie.

"You're welcome. Now, back to my unassuming role as a salesman." the masked man walked away, whistling.

"This is ridicu-" The Batter heard a 'ping' and he looked down at his tunic. A shining button that read 'THE BATTER - UNION FOUNDER' was on his tunic - a similar button was on Alpha's body. They both quickly tore off their buttons and decided to ignore my nonsense. "Right, let's press this button." He walked up to the bird shaped button and firmly pressed it. A loud screeching noise roared through the air and something descended from the sky...

A pedalo, a swan looking boat, landed into a waterwe... er, meatway leading north. Alpha was appropriately confused. "What the hell." He looked at the Batter. "What is this."

"A pedalo."

"...This is a pedalo?"

"Yes. The Narrator did not change this - it looks exactly as it should be."

"...Who would make something so fucking stupid?"

"I'm not sure, but it's functional." The Batter stepped into the pedalo and crouched into it to get comfortable. "Riding inside?"

"I'd rather not." the Add-On preferred to keep his dignity.

"Very well then." The Batter moved his feet and located the pedals that rowed the pedalo. Riding it like a bike, the pedalo glided across the surface of the meat, which made oozing sounds as it traveled. Alpha floated closely behind, looking at the ridiculous vehicle moving around and glad that he wasn't in it...

Until something popped out of the meat. It was a long, alligator-like ghost that stretched from out of the meat. Alpha barely had time to react when it clenched its jaw around him. " _AAAARGH WHAT THE SHIIIIT!_ "

The Batter watched the ghost chew on Alpha while casually using Wide Angle. "That is a Troquantary, an aquatic ghoul with a radiant smile." As he said that, the monster grinned, its teeth shining radiantly while it bit into Alpha as if he was an onion ring.

" _HELP ME DAMN YOU!_ "

The Batter rose up from his seat and smacked the Troquantary in the jaw with his bat and fuck I don't want to spell out its name every time. We're calling 'Troquantaries' 'Trogdors' now, is that okay?

"It really isn't." the Batter said, annoyed by the stupid change.

Well too bad. It's a Trogdor now. Anyway, the whack was hard enough to break some of the Trogdor's teeth, allowing Alpha to squeeze through and escape its grasp. The Trogdor roared in anger, due to being hurt and having its name changed. It struck the Batter, almost making him lose balance on the pedalo. He and Alpha started to double team the Trogdor, hitting it repeatedly until it let out a dying gasp. The Trogdor sunk into the meat, dead - the meat is definitely not USDA approved. Or whatever the OFF equivalent of it is.

"...Calling those things Trogdors are actually easier than pronouncing its full name." Alpha commented.

Thank you.

"Can we please just put this behind us?" the Batter said.

Fine. The Batter continued to sail down the stream of meat (Alpha wisely chose to float next to him from now on). As they went along, they noticed pairs of numbers painted on the wall - a number indicating a sequence starting from 1 and a number that's presumably the number inputted in the sequence. Of course, I could just tell you the numbers, but no. That's silly. Go play the game yourself to find these elusive numbers - also to find the accuracy that this story clearly so lacks.

After fighting a pair of Trogdors, the Batter parked the pedalo at the end of the stream, northwest of Dedan's office. There was an Elsen blocking a switch that summoned another pedalo, but it seemed like a pointless gesture; the guy was also rambling about wanting to work in peace and never being sick to himself, so the heroes decided it'd be best to ignore him, so they continued on. Behind the building was a set of ten blocks arranged like a keypad floating above an isolated pool of meat - quite obviously, this was where the numbers from earlier are to be inputted. Unfortunately, the Batter had to get a new pedalo to get in the pool, and the button was, once again, guarded by an Elsen.

"I don't want to be Burnt." the Elsen murmured. Both parties waited for a fight to begin... but the Elsen did not go Burnt, nor did any Tiburces fly in to fight for kicks. Instead, the Elsen was looking at the Batter quizzically. "Are you... from the union...?"

"...What...?" The Batter looked down at his tunic to see that the name tag was back, drawing a sigh from him.

"It... it's good to see you. I.. suppose." the Elsen rasped, looking somewhat happier. "Having to defend this place from hhhh... i-intruders was not in my, uh, job description."

Instead of being annoyed by the situation like his handler, Alpha decided to take advantage of this situation. "We understand. Look, we'll talk to your asshole boss. You just move away from this switch, got it?"

The Elsen paused before nodding. "Y-yes. Thank you!" He stepped to the side gratefully. "If you don't mind... can you get us sick days? I mean, well, none of us have ever been, well, sick... but... the notion would be nice..."

"Sure." the Batter answered insincerely while he slammed the button, summoning a pedalo into the pool.

"O-oh golly! I think I'll, um, tell the others about this! ...Assuming that they haven't, hhhh, expired!" and so the Elsen went off to talk to the remaining Elsens, preventing me from having to write anymore Burnt battles for the time being.

The Batter prodded four blocks in turn - they started to bob in the air quicker, confirming that he was pressing them correctly. He looked at Alpha with a commanding gaze. "Alpha, fly around and look for more numbers."

The Add-On shook in disagreement. "No way. There's no way in hell I'm going through those damn smiling specters."

"Then float. Really fast."

"Look, there's no way I'm going to-"

That's when he caught a proper glimpse at the eyes hidden by the Batter's cap.

"OKAY I'M GOING, FUCK YOU!" Alpha tried to sound exasperated to hide his fear as he flew away - the guy had one hell of a glare. While he flew over the rivers of meat (infested with Trogdors, of course), he pondered about the Batter. The guy is clearly serious about purifying the world and fighting the specters - too serious. The Add-On chose to shrug it off, however. As long as the guy's doing good and, well, his owner, the means justified the ends. So, he went back to memorizing numbers. And screaming at the ghosts snapping at him from below.

* * *

"How did it go?" The Batter asked Alpha, the Add-On now sporting multiple bite marks, when he came back.

" _Fix. **This.**_ " he growled in pain. The baseball player nodded and broke out Saving First Base and a few Luck Tickets to get Alpha fully healed up. No longer looking like a chewed up onion ring, Alpha poked at the blocks, continuing from where The Batter left off. Upon hitting the last block, all of them turned transparent, floating rapidly - presumably, they got it right.

The Batter and Alpha started their way back to the entrance of Alma; there was no one to hinder them, except for the ghosts lingering the red rivers. Upon reaching the entrance, they noticed that there was no longer a barrier to Dedan's office - there was also a group of Elsens huddled together near the front, with Zacharie watching them intently. "What seems to be going on?" the Batter asked him.

"They're discussing forming a group." Zacharie answered. "Of course, this did not exist in the original form in this tale - I'm curious to see where this is going."

"Ah." he had a sneaking suspicion that this had something to do with the whole union thing.

But enough about my bullshit, he had a holy job to do. The Batter walked toward the towering building, but before he could set a proper foot through the door, a cat, The Judge, emerged from inside. "You again?" a surprised Alpha said. "How in the holy fuck do you and that Masked Dork over there get to places before us?"

"Well..." the Judge playfully licked his paw. "As my trading comrade sometimes rambles, dear foul-mouthed Add-On, he claims that our presence is 'scripted', whatever that may mean and entail."

The Batter looked down at the talking cat and at the ominous entrance. "Have you seen Dedan in there?"

"The Guardian of this Zone? Why, I believe he's pacing in the innermost part of his office - he's trying to fit the recent specter infestations and production troubles in his schedule, and he has a hard time trying to figure it out for himself. Behind his provocative and deformed exterior is a rather calculating personality - of course, this is a bit too much for him to deal with at the moment.

"Are you heading inside yourself?" the man standing above him nodded. "Ah. Well, Dedan is trying to relax himself - rather futilely I might add - with music. His building is a maze of a sort, and it will send you back to whence you came if you pursue a wrong turn - follow the tune, and I'm confident that you'll find him."

"Thank you."

"No, I must thank you. I've scratched at that barrier for awhile, yearning for escape."

The Batter and Alpha just stared at him - it was hard to imagine the sophisticated talker acting like a normal cat. Then, Alpha asked, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Ah. Well, it's nothing for you to be concerned with - at the moment. I'm simply searching for somebody, that's all."

"Any luck with that?" Zacharie suddenly spoke out, making the others' heads turn.

"I'm afraid not." the cat shook his head at his apparent friend.

"Hmm. I haven't seen the person you seek either. Zone 2 might be your best bet."

"Thank you, Zacharie." The feline trotted away, passing by the Elsens, who were in the middle of a heated discussion.

"...I'm sure that... hhhh... their negotiations with Master D-Dedan will be successful..."

"Should we... trust them though? They did sort of, um, kill some of us..."

"To be killed in that ghastly form is... hhhh... a blessing. Now then... should we, um, make badges?"

Truly, what an important conversation. Unfortunately, the Batter did not find it as important and proceeded on into the building.

The innards of the building was a fine majestic purple, with red meat oozing into small ponds at the corners of each room. Each room was perfectly identical - which is of course a problem for those trying to make their way through. The Batter and Alpha spent the first minute wandering aimlessly through the rooms, only to get stuck within a loop, bringing them back to the first room and adding to the pool of utter frustration.

Alpha laid on the ground, exhausted with all the running around. "Augh... what kind of a maniac builds a place like this?"

"A screaming one..." The Batter huffed, taking a break to regather himself. While they stood there, they heard nothing... except for a faint melody coming down from one of the passageways. An imaginary lightbulb lit itself above the Batter's head. "Do you hear that?"

"The sound of my anger?

"No... it's music." With that, the Batter immediately started running, like a proper baseball player would after hitting a ball. Alpha tailed behind him, and indeed, he started to hear the music too. The architecture showed no sign of them getting closer, but the music got louder as they went through the right doors.

However, something jumped out through one of the doors (one that leads you back to the entrance, I might add), intending to impede their progress - a small, horse-like specter was blocking the away, along with a Tiburce flunky. "The ghosts are in here too?" Alpha said in surprise.

"Corruption runs rather deep." The Batter stated before going into Wide Angle mode. "The new phantom is an Arpagon, a four-legged ghoul with a liable breath."

The Arpagon hissed angrily and lunged at Alpha, taking a bite out of him. "Get away from me!" In response, the Add-On punched the ghoul back. After the conflict-loving Tiburce attacked, The Batter struck the Arpagon with a Competence, finishing it off. The crusaders easily dealt with the Tiburce before proceeding onward.

Luckily, they didn't run into any more trouble by the time they reached the exit. There was a larger pool of meat surrounding the ground, with a set of stairs leading up to a giant door. The Batter made a practice swing with his bat and grinned. "Today you'll be purified, Guardian of Zone 1."

* * *

Dedan shuffled in his office restlessly. The music he played did not help his worries, nor did the steady flow of the meat waterfalls behind him. A calendar laid on his desk, with lots of dates and activites scribbled all over it. Dedan growled to himself, frustration setting in. "Euuurgh... this is too much..." Finally, he roared. He picked up the calendar and began tearing at it, letting the scraps fly around. " _STUPID FOWL-ASSED SPIRITS!_ "

He huffed, his breaths expanding his iron hard skin. He stared ahead to look into his sanctum - now being besieged by ghosts- which would take him a day to clean out. Then there was the post office and the mines and...

Then the Guardian noticed the two people standing in his office: the baseball-clothed weirdo and the circular ghost lord. Obviously, he responded by flipping his shit. "YOU TWO!" He slammed his hands into his desk, leaving two distinctive cracks in them. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TWO HERE? WHAT PART OF 'I'M GOING TO KILL YOU' DO YOU NOT GET? ARE YOU GUYS CRAZY?  _ARE YOU GUYS COMPLETELY RETARDED?_ "

"I assure you, we are not mentally handicapped." The Batter said.

"SHUT UP!" He shifted his gaze at Alpha. "TAKE YOUR SHIT PHANTOMS AND GET OUT! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!"

"It's not my fault these damn ghosts are running around!" Alpha snapped. "Does it look like I enjoy putting angry chucklefuck alligator ghosts in our food source? What kind of a dumbass would do that!"

"I don't know, _you tell me!_ "

"What part of 'this is not my fault' do you not understand?"

"Then what are you two annoying asses doing here anyway?" He looked at the Batter's tunic and frowned. "The union?"

The questioned man groaned and ripped the respawned nametag off of himself. "No, we are not fro-"

"Look, I may be verbally abusive, but it's necessary." the coat-wearing Guardian grumbled. "There's a whole grand world out there, and this Zone makes half the shit everybody needs! I need everybody working, and we can't slack off! So what if a few guys turn into phantom turncoats? It's the way it's got to be, got it!" For whatever reason, Dedan's tone was melancholic for the last two sentences. "This Zone ain't nothing without me! I am its enforcer, its Guardian, its inspector!"

The Batter did not appear to care. "Fascinating, but this 'union' is merely a silly invention impeding my real goal."

"What might that be, clown man?"

"Eliminating you."

The room was silenced with this comment. Dedan's eyes shifted from the bat clenched in the hostile's hand to the aggressive Add-On. The Batter grinned. And then Dedan grinned. And he laughed - he actually wiped tears from his hollow eyes. "You two are complete dipshits... to think that you can take me on...

"In honor of the almighty Queen, I will rip that insufferable smile off of your face!"

His fist glowed, prompting a shout from Alpha. "Get out of the way!" He flew to the side and the Batter ducked in time; Dedan punched his desk, sending it across the room and sailing above The Batter's head.

Dedan stomped toward them with his coat unbuttoned, a bony grimace on his face, and his fists glowing with a strange aura. "BRING IT ON, MAGGOTS!" He ran at The Batter and punched him as he got up, sending the baseball player several feet away.

Instead of reaching for his bat, the Batter did a quick scan with, you guessed it, Wide Angle. "Dedan, the Guardian of Zone 1..." he read off with the information the Competence granted him.

"Nice observation!" Alpha snarked as he Chain'd into Dedan, making the Guardian whirl around and chase after him.

"...has two special attacks that inflict raging dementia and brings people to sleep." The bat-wielder was grateful that he picked up some Belial's Meat from Zacharie. With Dedan distracted, the man took up his bat and whacked him on the head; a normally lethal blow only left a bruise on Dedan's head.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dedan spun, his hand glowing with a different color. "Hour Hand!"

He slapped the Batter across the face, making him fall to the ground. He did not get up - he had fallen asleep. "Hey, now's not the time to be resting!" Alpha screeched, prodding the resting man. "What about your missi-"

He was suddenly hit over the head with a music player, ending the music that they heard while they were seeking out Dedan - Dedan himself was standing over the Add-On with the broken remnants of the player. "That's for trying to ruin my Zone!"

The Add-On lashed out with Saturated Chain, knocking the guy back. " _I'M NOT A DAMN GHOST!_ " He quickly turned his attention to his napping ally. "Get up! What did you use again..." He floated above the man and searched through his pockets like a thief, searching for something. "Here we go." He then unceremoniously slapped a piece of Belial's Meat onto the Batter's face.

The bat-wielder's eyes snapped awake, the juices from the meat seeping into his skin and awakening him. Still feeling a bit drowsy, he sat up and absent-mindedly chewed on the raw-looking slab. After he swallowed it, he said, "Thanks. I'd appreciate it if you didn't put it on my face, though."

"Yeah, whatever." The Add-On flew to the side, avoiding a swing from Dedan. The Batter quickly took a swing of his own, hitting the Guardian in the face, denting Dedan's giant teeth.

"GAAAAH! YOU ARROGANT FUCKS! I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU'VE NEVER BEEN BORN!" He rapidly swung his fists, muttering 'Minute Hand' and 'Sweep Hand' under his breath as he struck the Batter and Alpha repeatedly, bringing down their health. Noticing their poor condition, the Batter pulled out some Luck Tickets from his pocket and stuck it on himself and Alpha, letting the magic power inside of them heal them. Unfortunately, Dedan did not have any healing item on him - he certainly did not expect to meet with his quarrelsome equals, after all.

"Concede, Dedan!" The Batter yelled, smashing his weapon into Dedan's chest - the Guardian felt something crack as he stepped back.

"You... you..." then, he let out a rapid storm of curses - the swear words incomprehensible in his sheer rage. Then, believe it or not (you better believe it, with the weird stuff in this story), his language started to take a physical form, a speech bubble with a foreign character within in it growing out of his giant jaw.

Alpha started to shake uncontrollably as the bubble emerged. He heard something from it. Something annoying. He heard mocking laughter and language in his head, the speech balloon invading his thoughts. "You... stop.. LAUGHING!" The Add-On shouted and rammed into the bubble, not even bothering to use a Competence. The balloon was immediately felled.

However, the Batter noticed that something was definitely wrong; his comrade was not in control of his actions. The floating circle just screamed with fury, ramming into Dedan repeatedly, not thinking to use his stronger Competence moves. Realizing that the bubble infected him with fury, the Batter dug another piece of Belial's Meat out of his uniform and threw it toward Alpha; it went through the middle of his body, glowed, and disappeared, as if Alpha's body vaporized it.

The Add-On stopped shaking. "What..." he seemed unaware of his period of rage. However, he set his sights upon Dedan and quickly remembered what he was doing. "Oy, I'm not done with you, you damn bare-chested buffoon!"

Dedan was knocked down by a Saturated Chain. He got up and rose his fists, able to continue fighting, but was weakening. He felt aches within his bones, a feeling he hadn't felt in years. He wiped his forehead to get rid of the sweat, and he was shocked to see that it was blood. He never bleeds. Roaring, Dedan lashed out with another Hour Hand, this time lulling Alpha to sleep. However, the Batter simply grabbed another piece of meat and cured him. Dedan's human-like enemy pulled out a cooked slab of Silver Flesh and ate it; The Batter looked relaxed as the special meat restored his Competence. He threw another piece for Alpha to devour before they both continued their assault. More and more blows kept coming at Dedan, injuring bones, sometimes snapping them, causing him to bleed, bruising his already deformed skin, it was too much for the Guardian to take. As for them, they just kept recovering, from their injuries and the rage and drowsiness he afflicted on them.

He threw a punch at the Batter. This time, the pure white-clothed man simply stood there and took the punch to the face. The Batter spit out a glob of saliva and blood, but otherwise, he was unfettered. Dedan stepped away from him, a bit frightened. The Batter ran toward him, bat poised. The hero Ran with Courage and struck Dedan on the top of the head. Something flashed in the Guardian's eyes and his vision blurred as a literal head-splitting pain overtook him. Dedan fell on the floor, and he found himself unable to stand back up. The Batter and Alpha just stood over him, watching him bleed - it was clear that they thought he was done for. Dedan just crawled over to the remnants of his desk, the meat waterfalls dripping in front of him. He turned over in his blood-stained coat, to look at his conqueror, and for a moment, he thought he saw something else within the holy man. "What are... what... have you..."

"You have been defeated, Dedan, Guardian of Zone 1." The Batter said satisfied, putting his bat away, the job completed.

"You..." Dedan tried to reach out toward The Batter with his hand, but, he suddenly faltered. His arm lowered to the floor as Dedan wheezed in pain, feeling death approaching.

"This land is now pure."

And then everything went to white.

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE**_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**  Ah, this is finally finished. This chapter was written over the span of five days, full of suffering and me being forced to read the Great Gatsby and answer questions on it. I don't care that it's classic literature, it bores me._

**_Changes from the original game:_ **

_* Trogdors and the union. That is all._

_* The Judge leaving Dedan's office and foreshadowing future events._

_* Less Burnt fights because I'm tired of writing those._

_* Skipping the puzzle into Alma. Also skimming through the puzzle to get into Dedan's office. I'm sorry if you wanted to see the characters' puzzle-induced frustration in their full glory._

_* Flesh Maze Tango has manifested in the real world. Hallelujah._

_* It'd be boring for Alpha, The Batter, and Dedan to stand in place while fighting, so I made it more dynamic. Originally, I was going to have them chase each other through the maze, but I wanted Dedan to die in his office, like in the game. Plus. I'm not that good at writing fight scenes, so that's where I draw the line._

_Clearly, I've failed at my goal of writing one chapter a week. My new goal is to write at least one chapter a month, from now on. Even though the last update was two months ago, so I already failed at even that. OH WELL I'LL TRY._

_What hi-jinks will the Batter and Alpha get into Zone 2? Who is the Judge looking for? Is the union a one-off gag? Who is the health inspector for Alma, because clearly, the meat is full of ghosts, and that's just ridiculous. You probably know the answers to most of these questions if you played the game, but still, check out the next chapter when it arrives! Thank you for reading, and I promise that the story won't go un-updated for months again!_


	5. The Uninformative Library

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Zone 2 hell yeah.

_**Author's Note:**  Oh my, this story's been getting a lot more attention ever since the OFF category is made - hello, OFF fandom! Today, we'll be heading to Zone 2, and we'll meet with a character who's personality is different from their canon depiction. Huzzah._

* * *

_The story is now on **ON**._

A figure stood alone inside Zone 1. "...Dedan is... gone? This isn't good. Not good at all. I need to report this to the Queen immediately!"

* * *

_**Chapter 4:**  The Uninformative Library_

* * *

With a flash of light, the Batter and Alpha appeared in the nothingness, the whispers heralding their arrival. Alpha, being new to all of this, was understandably worried. "What's that noise? Who the hell is there?"

"Never mind the noise." the Batter assured him. He pulled something out of his pocket, a glowing trinket, holding it up to examine it. "The Cancer Card... this will let us access Zone 2." Then, like an impatient child, he was heading to the spot that would whisk them away to the next Zone.

"Hold on, we're leaving already?"

"Yes. Purification does not wait."

"Do you ever take breaks, man?"

"No." he answered plainly. He stood upon the spot that would bring him to Zone 2. "Now, come along."

With that, the two disappeared in beams of light.

* * *

"Hmmm... she's right. The specters in my zone are a bigger concern right now. I need to ensure the safety of my citizens..."

* * *

The heroes landed on a pink walkway, leading up to the Zone proper. The Batter looked at the sight before him and while he wasn't the type to get impressed, he thought that the environment was better than that of the previous Zone.

In front of them was a giant city, a mass of pink buildings, radiating a feeling of warmth and security. The buildings all surrounded a larger building, which, as if made of blocks, stacked up to the sky, a Tower of Babel.

The aura of safety seemed to affect even Alpha. "Huh.. this looks like a walk in the park."

Unfortunately, the Batter is too much of a stoic dick to be affected by such good will. "Don't get overconfident. We still need to locate the guardian of this Zone."

"Hm? You're hunting another guardian?" Alpha questioned. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"In order to purify the land, I need to defeat all of its guardians."

Alpha still couldn't wrap his head around that logic; aren't the Guardians technically protectors of the Zones? Well, regardless, he's still forced to go along with whatever the Batter is planning. "Right... I think this Zone's guardian is in that tower."

"What makes you say that?"

"Since when is a giant fucking tower not suspicious?" the Add-On pointed out. "Come on, don't be an idiot."

"...I suppose it's worth checking out first."

Despite the large scale of the city, it was unusually quiet, and the Batter and Alpha experienced no trouble finding the tower. To their surprise, the tower was a gigantic library.

"...That's the place you get books from, right?" Alpha asked - apparently, there weren't any libraries in Zone 1.

"I suppose so." the Batter huffed as he entered.

The place indeed checked out books - of course, our heroes were not here to check out books, they were here to check out ghosts... out of life.

"That is the most goddamn terrible joke I've ever heard." Alpha said.

I know. There were a few Elsens milling around in the lobby of the calming blue lobby. One of them was talking to another Elsen behind a desk. "...Yes. You shouldn't lend any more books to that man. He tears out the pages. It's almost dangerous."

"Yes. I... understand. Do not let this trouble you." the other Elsen, a librarian, answered. "I am sorry for... this inconvenience."

"Yes. Thank you. I'll be returning to the upper floor." the troubled Elsen curtly walked away and ascended a staircase.

The Batter walked up to the desk. "Excuse me..."

"Hello. Welcome to the library in Bismark, in the center of Zone 2." the Elsen greeted, launching into an explanation that didn't exist in the game, since I'm a scumbag. "It is here where we store books around the world. Here, we lend these precious tomes to the public, so that they may pursue knowledge - or, perhaps for simple entertainment. These words educate. These words relax. As one of the three comforts, books are the most important.

"Without books, the world will be uneducated of true dangers. They will be engulfed by untruths and paranoia until only worry is left."

"...I thought we were done with these stupid explanations." Alpha murmured to the Batter.

"There's always time for... explanations." the librarian answered. "Now, are you here to pursue answers or would, um, the plastic, less dangerous books be sufficient?"

"We've come for answers." the Batter said. "What is in this library?"

"Um... we have various books on different subjects. Of course, we also have plastic books. Some, um, readers complained that the normal books were... well, dangerous."

"Beside the books." the man said, sighing.

"...Um... we have shelves..."

The Batter glared at him.

"Oh... well, the upper floors are suffering a particularly nasty phantom infestation. I... I've placed barricades to keep them at bay."

"The specters? I'll eliminate them for you."

"I... um... really? You know, you could, uh, get hurt. There isn't even a substantial reward to be found up there. Just books... walls... er, those shelves... and an old cat."

This further piqued our hero's interest. "Cat?"

"Yes. One that used quite sophisticated vocabulary. Truly, he is an educated being." he paused. "For a cat... at any rate."

If the Judge was in this place, surely, the area was significant. "I'll purify the upper floors for you."

"That's... um... good. But, um... the fourth floor and onward is inaccessible. I'll open the way for you if... um, you do this library a civil service. A very unkind man, er... ripped out the pages... from some of the books on the 3rd floor. Would you be so kind as to put them back together?"

"Do we have time for this?" Alpha asked the Batter.

Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be a way around this. 'Very well then." The Elsen behind the counter gave him a nod. The Batter left to go up the stairs, closely followed by Alpha. The second floor of the library had bookcases lining up its walls, filled to the brim with blue covered books. Alpha noticed a nearby Elsen reading one of the aforementioned plastic books.

"I really like these plastic books... you're not in danger of damaging them..."

The Add-On looked over the pale man's shoulder. "...That book doesn't even have any words. ...Or pictures..."

"Yes. It's safe." the Elsen rasped. "Information can be, uh, dangerous..."

Surely, if Alpha had a face, he would be making a weird expression.

The Batter took a quick glance around. Even though the bookcases contained real and plastic books, the Elsens were all intent on reading the plastic ones. Not that the baseball player garbed hero cared, at any rate. As he made his way to the staircase to the next floor, a book managed to catch his attention. The Batter, mystified, entranced, walked up to the bookcase that held the precious book on its mantle. He read off the spine,"How to become super combat master of the universe in 5 lessons?" He spent a few seconds to consider reading it before shaking his head. "No, I don't have time for this."

Alpha watched the Batter mutter to himself as he ascended. "...God, you all sicken me..."

The third floor seemed devoid of life - however, faint, ghastly giggling proved otherwise. The specters on the floor was nowhere in sight, though, so our heroes chose to ignore them for now. On one wall, the Batter spotted a piece of paper stuck to it - one of the ripped out pages. He was not sure what kind of asshole rips out book pages and sticks them on walls, but it was hardly relevant.

The Batter tore it off the wall and looked at it. The book page looked like a giant, pink three of clubs card that looked rather worn out. In fact, it was so worn out that it was hardly legible. "Hmm, where would this go..."

Alpha was looking at the nearby bookcases and found a book that wasn't made of plastic. The Add-On flipped through the book (somehow) and found a place in the book where a page was torn out. "It looks like it goes here, but the page next to it is an ace of spades. ...I can see why someone would rip out the pages, nobody can read this trash."

"This book here has diamonds..." the Batter said, across the aisle of the room, looking at a similar book.

At another bookcase, Alpha shouted, "Fucking seven of hearts!"

"You shouldn't shout in a library." the Batter sternly reminded.

"Who cares? Like there's anyone up here to tell us off!"

"We're here." a quiet voice murmured. Then, a specter floated down through the ceiling. The specter was floating upside-down and was giving the Add-On a lopsided, judgemental look. "No shouting in the library, heh heh." Then, two more Upside-Down ghosts floated down to, also giving Alpha annoyed looks.

"Great! It's the peanut galle-"

"Heavy Silence." one of the ghouls chanted.

A sharp pain went through Alpha's circular body. He tried to go back to shouting insults, but the Add-On discovered that he could not yell at them. Enraged, he tried to use one of his Chain attacks to fly into them, but for some reason, he found himself incapable of doing so.

"Haha. We may be specters, but please uphold common library courtes-" the specter was quickly defeated with a swift swing of the bat.

The Batter faced down the two specters, ignoring Alpha's mute antics (which involved slamming into walls and floors like a child going through a tantrum). "Purification in progress." he said - very quietly, I might add. He unleashed a Furious Homerun Competence on another ghoul as Pepper Steak played in the background (very very softly).Eventually, Alpha realized that having a fit was stupid and chose to redirect his fury at the Upside-Down Specters, finishing one off. A short moment later and the last remaining ghost was defeated.

The Batter fished through his pockets and pulled out a slab of Bellial's Meat, hoping that it comes through again. He tossed the hunk of flesh straight through the hoop that was Alpha. Goal! Or, touchdown! Look, the Batter and I know jack shit about basketball, okay? After a few seconds of awkward silence, Alpha shook and said, "It's called a 'hoop', dumbass."

With that, everything was back to its usual status quo. With that problem out of the way, the Batter went back to their daunting task. Fortunately, progress was finally made when he found the right book. He slipped the page in its rightful place and slid it back on its shelf. "Do you see any other pages?"

"I think I saw one over here..."

The two went about gathering torn pages and searching for their respective book. While they did so, two more groups of Upside-Down Specters appeared, apparently summoned by the sound of the Batter's noisy footsteps - it quickly became apparent that the blockade that halted progress to the next floor was doing absolutely nothing to stop the specters Luckily, they weren't much trouble. After several minutes, most of the books were reunited with their missing pages - most of them, anyway.

"This book is still missing a page." the Batter said; there were no other ripped out pages present on the floor, however.

"Maybe the librarian won't notice?" Alpha suggested.

They started their trek back downstairs to the lobby. They walked up to the librarian but before they even said anything, the Elsen said, "Not all of the books are repaired yet..."

"We know." the Batter said with a sigh. "One of the book pages seem to be missing."

"Um... well... then... the perpetrator must have it. He... hhhh... I've heard that he's in the western part of Bismark. ...I was too scared to... hhh... go after him, though." the Elsen rasped. "...A person like him truly is... a hardened criminal."

"...I'll see to it then." the Batter said with a slow nod. He and Alpha exited the library and circled around to its west side. They proceeded to head down the path that led away from the library.

On the western side of the Zone, they could see something they didn't initially see when they entered the Zone. A kilometer or two away from the land, divided by a plastic sea, was something that resembled an amusement park. There were several structures on the small metal island, the most notable one a towering skeleton of a rollercoaster. There didn't seem to be any clear way across the plastic, however. There was a platform several yards away from the mainland that had a staircase leading down into the earth, but that too was unreachable.

An Elsen was transfixed by the sight, standing at the edge of the metal landmass, breathing heavily. The Batter cautiously walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me. Do you happen to be the one that's been ripping out pages in the library."

The Elsen turned around, looking a bit shaky. He made a nervous smile as he pulled out a crumpled paper from his pocket. "Yes. It.. it is my secret to happiness. To a true feeling of safety. J-just holding this page makes me feel secured and enlightened."

"...Give that page to me, now." the Batter said with an aggressively outstretched hand.

"I... no... you're not taking this from me..." the Elsen murmured, a bit of smoke pouring out of his mouth. "It... it makes me feel safe... I... you... you will not be taking this!"

Then, his head exploded - this time, more like an actual explosion. The Batter and Alpha moved away from the Elsen. A cloud of smoke covered where the Elsen's head should be, and despite the lack of a head, he screamed. He shook violently as his hands started to darken, being burned to a crisp. The smoke started to condense into a solid stream. As the smoke condensed, it revealed that there was a thin circle floating above the Elsen's body, like a halo. The stream of smoke coiled its way through the circle, heading into the sky.

The creature that used to be an Elsen roared.

Alpha was unnerved by this new Elsen transformation. "What the hell is that thing?"

The Batter, staring down the creature, used another Wide Angle. "That is a Valzong-Burnt. More stronger than a normal Burnt and is capable of silencing us."

He swung his bat at the new Burnt's stomach, but the Valzong-Burnt seemed unfazed. The enemy countered by swinging his arm, his hand scratching the Batter across the face. Alpha launched a Competence attack, Awaited Embrace, at the Valzong-Burnt. The enemy reeled back from the attack, his bleeding wound suddenly turning darker; the Valzong-Burnt cringed as if in pain, despite nobody making a further attack.

While the Valzong-Burnt was dealing with the poisonous blow, the Batter was running toward him. Before he could do anything, the Batter hit him with a Furious Homerun. The Valzong-Burnt screeched, the piece of paper scattering to the wind as he fell backward - into the plastic.

The Batter indifferently placed a Luck Ticket where he was scratched while the Valzong-Burnt screamed as he sunk into the molten plastic. The smoke that came out of its head soon dispersed and the screaming silenced. Alpha floated over the plastic, shocked. "That... that was pretty gruesome. Even for you. You asshole."

The Batter ignored him, picking up the fallen page, grateful that it hadn't fallen in with the Burnt. "Let's go back to the library."

Alpha begrudgingly followed the Batter back to the library. Upon getting there, they saw an Elsen running in circles in the lobby. "Aaaaaah t-there was a Burnt outside! How terrifying!"

Luckily, it didn't seem that the librarian wasn't losing his shit. "Ah. You.. have the page?" he made a pleased expression upon seeing the paper in the Batter's hand. "Wonderful. Hopefully the... hhhhh... thief will be rightfully punished for this."

"If you can call drowning a rightful punishment." Alpha muttered.

"Okay. Um, put this page back in the last book and I'll lower the barricades. Yes... the fourth floor can only be accessed by, well, you two... yes, only you two..." the Elsen said.

The Batter and Alpha started scaling the stairs again. While passing through the second floor, they saw that every Elsen there was panicking as much as the one downstairs. They ran in circles, ignoring the Batter and Alpha as they passed, screaming - as quietly as possible. The purifiers went up to the third floor and the Batter looked for the book that still needed a page. Upon slipping the paper inside, they heard a whirring noise as the block barricades retracted into the ground.

As they started going up the opened passage that led upstairs, the Batter said, "Our first priority is to find the Judge. Perhaps he has some information on this Zone's guardian."

Alpha floated behind him. "Yeah... maybe this will be a walk in the park, and we won't have to deal with shitty puzzles."

They got onto the next floor, which was a small floor filled with fake bookshelves and crates. Then, at the same time, somebody started strutting downstairs from the upper floor - a cat. However, the cat didn't look like the one the heroes were accustomed to; this cat had wide eyes and lacked the smile the Judge had, his open mouth showing that all of his teeth were at the front.

The cat noticed them and confronted them, looking confused. "Who... who are you?"

The Batter was just as befuddled. "You're not the Judge."

"The Judge? ..I'm sorry, I don't know who you're referring to." he seemed apologetic. "I am Japhet, the creator of this city. Who might you two be? I've never seen you two in this Zone before, and it's nice to have visitors."

"I am the Batter, and this is my Add-On, Alpha."

"Ah! You have an Add-On? How extraordinary! This further proves that you're a man of great virtues. What business do you have in this Zone, visitor?" Japhet said.

"I'm here to purify the specters."

"Purify the specters? Oh, are you here to help me? I've been trying to clear out the recent specter infestations, and I can't just be everywhere at once - your help will be appreciated!" Japhet said cheerfully. "Have you been sent by the Queen to help me restore order to this Zone?"

The Batter paused before saying, "Not exactly."

"Hmm? Then how did you come here? Are you an acquaintance of Zacharie, perhaps?"

"Nah, but that weirdo pretends that he's our friend." Alpha answered.

"Then... how did..." the city's creator stopped to think for a bit before saying. "Do you have... the Cancer Card?"

"Yes." the Batter said.

"Then, you must have..." the cat looked horrified before letting out a hiss; Japhet looked ready to pounced. "You... you were the one that killed Dedan, aren't you?"

"Yes." the Batter repeated, bluntly.

"You... you haven't the slightest regard for what you've done! You... you murderer! You heathen! You criminal scum! You sport pajama wearing monster!"

Alpha snickered at the last comment, prompting a glare from the Batter. The man stared down at Japhet, not caring about the latter's accusations. "You said that you were the creator of this city - does that mean you're the guardian of this Zone?"

"Yes, I am - do you intend to cut me down as well?" Japhet shouted. "Well, I won't be letting you! I am the Queen's servant, the champion of the people, the agent of justice! I will deal swift justice to you before I continue with my task! Taste my righteous vengeance!"

Japhet pounced, a lion going after its prey. The Batter swung his bat at the mid-air feline, knocking him back - Japhet simply shrugged the attack off and hissed. The baseball bat wielder quickly took the chance to do a Wide Angle. "Japhet, guardian of Zone 2..." he paused. "How odd, there's no other information on him..."

"As if I would be read by enemies like an open book!" Japhet spat out. "Alto!" He opened his mouth and a diamond shaped ray of light came out. The diamond expanded into a multitude of diamonds and rammed into the Batter, knocking him not the floor. The Batter groaned, feeling a scalding burn where he was hit.

"Tsk. There's no way we're getting our asses kicked by a goddamn cat!" Alpha rammed into Japhet, grinding the small body into the floor. Japhet roared and stuck his claws into the ring shaped body. "Ow!" Alpha floated up to try to get the cat to get off, but to his horror, he was still stuck; to add insult to injury, Japhet used his other hand to start clawing the Add-On. "Fuckingshitgethimoffgethimoff..."

The Batter ran toward Alpha, bat in hand, and swung at Japhet like he was a pinata. The force of the hit was enough to send Japhet sailing straight into a wall. "Oof..." he stood back up, glaring at them. "Your arms are as strong as your spirit... but, I will not let a crime go unpunished!" He opened his mouth again, and this time, a strong gale of wind came out, heading toward the two heroes. The shockingly powerful winds hit the Batter and Alpha, cutting them up from all sides.

The Batter was a bit worried now - he felt very close to defeat. He dodged Japhet's next pounce and immediately used Save First Base on himself. "Alpha, use some Luck Tickets on yourself." He was, however, unanswered. "...Alpha?"

"..." Alpha was simply floating there. His body had darkened, as if he was a lightbulb with its switch turned off. He did not do anything. He did not say anything.

Alpha was dead.

"Oh." the Batter briefly cursed himself for not buying any Jokers; Zacharie said that they revived people, but the Batter believed that he wouldn't need one. Surely, the masked salesman was having a good laugh about this.

Japhet was ready to pounce again, but he hesitated. The cat looked around, an uneasy expression on his face. "...A powerful specter is coming..."

"What?"

"...No doubt, the specter is getting attracted by the sounds of our clash - if there's anything to like about the specters, it's their respect for my library and its rules." Japhet shot a look at the Batter. "I think I'll be leaving you to deal with the specter. You'll be joining your Add-On soon, Batter!"

Japhet disappeared in a column of light and the stairs that led further up the building was suddenly barricaded. The Batter gripped his bat tightly.

How powerful was this specter, if it worried the guardian of the Zone?

The Batter saw something float in.

"Purification in pro-"

"Excuse... me..."

The Batter paused.

From out behind a bookcase, a circular ring appeared - another Add-On. The Add-On examined his surroundings before asking, "You... shouldn't be so loud in the library..."

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE**._

* * *

_**Author's Note:**  What's this? Japhet acting like a true agent of justice? Utter madness!_

**_Notable changes:_ **

_* The holy trinity of comforts._   
_* In the original game, the Elsen on the western part of Bismark would sell you the book page. I decided to make it more interesting._   
_* Japhet is now a pretty decent guy._


	6. The Uncooperative Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party members! Shopping centers! Cats! What more do you need?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hate not being able to directly import chapters off of fanfiction.net. +_+

_**Author's Note:**  Hyper is back, to bring you more unexciting bullshit - hooray! In this chapter, we meet new party members and go shopping! I hope you enjoy!_

_The story is now on **ON**._

* * *

_**Chapter 5:**  The Uncooperative Brother_

* * *

The Batter stared at the new Add-On in the room, nothing but silence shared between them.

The Add-On is pleased by this. "T-That's better... this library is best to be left in humble silence."

The Batter looked from him to the blacked out, dead Alpha, who automatically floated without will. "...Who are you?"

"I am the Add-On, Omega. I've been policing these... upper floors, ever since the guardian disappeared..." the Add-On whispered in response.

'The guardian disappeared?" the Batter said with a raised eyebrow. "He was the one confronting me just earlier."

"...The... cat...?" the Add-On shook, as if saying no. "He... is not the guardian. He calls himself Japhet but he does not resemble him in the slightest."

"Then who is the cat?"

"I do not know... he... is most likely delusional. As for the guardian... I'm not sure where he went..." Omega stopped. "O-oh... pardon my m-manners. I forgot to ask for your name."

"I am the Batter. I am here on a sacred mission to purify the world of evil."

"You're... an agent of justice, then?"

"That's one way of putting it."

"H-how admirable! It's nice to see somebody who pursues justice in this haunted, paranoia filled world!"

A thought entered the Batter's mind: could he have multiple Add-Ons? It wouldn't hurt to check, he thought. "Since you're so interested in justice, would you care to join me?"

"Well, I'm not bonded to anybody..." Omega floated closer to the Batter. The capped figure stretched his arm out toward the Add-On and touched him. The touch created a reaction, a burst of light.

**Add-On Omega has joined your party!**

The Add-On backed away from the Batter and flew around madly, alarmed by the announcement made by the voice unknown to him. "W-who's there?"

"Don't mind him." the Batter answered. "We have some work to do."

"But... who is..." in his frenzy, Omega flew into the dead Alpha, bumping the blackened shape back; this further unnerved the new party member. "...E...excuse... me. B-b-but who is this...?"

"That is Alpha, my other Add-On."

"Why is he... ummmm...  _dead?_  Do... you not have any... Jokers?"

"No." Once again, the Batter cursed himself for not buying any.

"Wh-What? You don't have any? Why? Why don't you have one? Jokers are a basic need, an essential! All weary travelers carry one!" The Batter ignored the rambling Add-On, heading back downstairs (with the dead Alpha being forcibly dragged along) since the staircase to the next floor was blocked. Omega followed them, continuing his rant. "They are needed to revive lives that are cut short by the specters! Why, t-to be an agent of justice without owning at least one Joker is a death sentence; one cannot fight without one! B-Batter, your mismanagement has cost the life of one of your allies! Do you not have any shame? Do you not have any regrets, you impetuous fool? I... I am starting to regret joining with you, now. What if you accidentally get me killed and-"

The Batter interacted with the yellow cube floating in the stairwell. The cube flashed and it healed up the Batter's wounds. The light then drained into Alpha's body. The light that glowed within the Add-On's body slowly grew brighter until he was a radiant lightbulb.

"...or... you could just interact with one of those cubes." Omega muttered.

It took a few seconds before Alpha regained consciousness. He seemed to be dimly aware of what's happening. "...Why are we here? What happened to that cat?" He looked away from the Batter and took notice of his new fellow Add-On. "...and who's this asshole?"

"I-I am Omega, your new acquaintance." Omega greeted humbly.

"...Batter, what did I miss?"

"You died, Japhet, or whatever his name is, mistook Omega as a specter and fled, and Omega joined us." the Batter answered plainly.

"Oh." Alpha confronted Omega. "Hey, I'm Alpha."

"It's nice to meet you. I-I suppose." the other Add-On answered. "I hope to be a valuable asset to this team."

"Hmm... what can you do?"

"Um... well I have three Competences, which I've learned in my time of, um... defending this library. I have Optimised Blur, which does an attack of random impact - unconventional and luck-based, but it's useful at times. I also have Inverse and Overdone Perspective, which cures Blindness and Muteness and Poison and Sleep, respectively. Yes."

"Those last two Competences sound useful." the Batter said with a nod.

"Yes. I've been, um, learning how to cure Fury, Madness, and Palsy - I'm sure that I'll learn it... eventually."

"Right. Now then... since access to the upper floors are still blocked off, we need to look around for the cat that claims to be Japhet. He's admittedly the only lead we have." the Batter said. He took the lead as the trio started to descend the library.

While they moved about, Omega moved over to Alpha. "So, er, Alpha-"

"Don't stand close to me. We only met a minute ago, man." Alpha hissed.

"S-sorry!" he backed away. "What I'm wondering is..." he briefly glanced ahead at the Batter before finishing his question. "...what are the Batter's goals? His goal of purifying the world seems interesting, but I'm curious as to what it... entails."

"...As far as I know, we need to kill the guardians."

"K-kill... the guardians? I... I do not understand why he would do that."

"Well, the first one was sort of an asshole anyway."

Omega was silent before he was realized that Alpha used the past tense - he was appalled. "Y-you already off'd Dedan? The first guardian? The tall mister? The director of Alma? H-how-"

"I can hear you guys talking." the Batter interrupted.

""O-oh! Sorry, er, boss, leader... I-I'm not sure what to call you..."

"Just call me the Batter. I don't need any other title." he answered. "If you're curious as to why I'm eliminating the guardians... it will all make sense in time."

"A l-long term plan, then?"

"If you want to call it that."

They were now on the bottom floor of the library. The librarian Elsen just finished checking out a book (a real one) to another Elsen, who immediately walked out, muttering about taking a pedalo back to a place called Vesper. The librarian noticed the Batter as he and his party came down the stairs. "Ah. Are you... um, satisfied with the fourth floor?"

"Sort of. Have you seen a cat in the lobby?" the baseball uniformed man asked.

"Um... no... s-sorry. I thought I heard meowing outside, but, um, it might be a vivid hallucination." he paused. "Never sleeping while doing my job, um, tends to give me hallucinations."

"That's... nice to know..." the trio slowly backed away before turning around and going outside.

Standing in front of the tall pink building when they emerged was a white cat; however, it was not the feline that claimed to be Japhet, but rather, the Judge. The cat looked up at them, and although the look on his face was welcoming, there was anxiety in his eyes. "Ah, we meet again, purificatory crusaders and their metaphysical observers. I can see that you have recruited another Add-On to your righteous cause, Batter."

"Erm, yes. I am Omega." the new Add-On greeted.

"Salutations. I go by the title of The Judge."

"Hey Judge." Alpha called. "Have you seen another cat around here? Preferably one with wind powers that cuts like a bitch?"

"Cat?" the Judge's eyes widened in surprise. "I take it that you've met Valerie, then?"

"Valerie?" the Batter said in an intrigued tone.

"Yes, Valerie, my brother."

They were struck silent by this turn of events."...Isn't Valerie a girl name?" Alpha pointed out, ruining said silence.

"Look, it hardly matters." the cat shook his head. "I've searched all over the Zones for him; I managed to narrow his location to this Zone, but I still haven't encountered him yet. From the information I've acquired, I discovered that he's gone under the delusion that he's Japhet, the guardian of this Zone."

"That's the cat we met." the Batter answered.

"Oh really? Is he gone now?"

"Yes. We're trying to track him down. He might lead us to the real Japhet."

"Ah. I've been informed by an acquaintance that Valerie's marked the Zone's shopping mall as his territory. He apparently paces the halls, scratching up the plastic mannequins and hissing at any specter that dares to interrupt his good time. He might have gone there."

"The shopping mall is technically public domain territory... but d'aaaw." Omega cooed.

"Yes, the antics of my kind are quite endearing, are they not? However, that is not the matter at hand. I propose we join forces and search the mall for him; our goals lie in finding him, after all."

The Batter thought about the proposal a bit. He then offered a nod. "That sounds like a good idea."

The Judge grinned and jumped up the Batter's leg, clambering up to his shoulder. "Right. Lead the way, comrade."

**The Judge has temporarily joined your party!**

"...There's that voice again..." Omega murmured.

The party, on the instructions of the Judge, walked around the library, heading north. While doing so, the Judge started talking with Omega and they excitedly talked about literature, much to the annoyance of the Batter and Alpha. They took the northern path and after a minute of walking, they found themselves in front of the mall. The mall was a big blocky building, with a set of stairs leading up to it. There was an Elsen standing on the steps, looking up with frightful eyes at the building.

The pale man noticed the newcomers, looking at them quizzically. "O-oh... I haven't seen you people here... before. Welcome to the Gomez Galleries, in the northern part of Zone-"

"Y-you don't need to educate us on this..." Omega interrupted, having read about these kinds of things.

Unfortunately, when there's unnecessary exposition, it cannot be stopped. "-2. It is here where luxuries can be acquired. People who are unsatisfied with what they currently have come to this den of consumerism in order to seek better things. As the first of the three comforts, the mall is the most important.

"Without the mall, there will be no luxuries to be had. The people will increasingly grow unsatisfied until dissension breaks out."

The entire party stared at the Elsen blankly. "...I'm not sure that there's a holy trinity of comforts, sir." The Judge said in response.

"...O-oh. Well, regardless, t-the shopping mall is in... hhhh... bad shape right now."

"The stores are closed?" Alpha said, probably raising an eyebrow (if he had one).

"N-no... t-the specters have infested the mall... it is rather... um, unsettling..."

"Specters are in the mall?" the Batter said. He took out a baseball bat and slung it over the shoulder that the Judge wasn't occupying. "We'll deal with the specters."

The Judge's smile briefly turned into a frown. "Um, while your cause may be noble, we have more important goals to be attending to."

"Fine. I'll still be purifying every specter we come across, though."

They head up the stairs and enter the mall. A catchy beat seemed to be playing over the intercom, apparently to entertain the shoppers. However, there didn't seem to be any customers around, scared away by the specter infestation. There was one familiar person present, though, standing behind a counter.

"Hello again, my friends!" Zacharie greeted, waving at them from behind the counter.

"Goddamn it." Alpha groaned.

"I can see that you joined the Batter, my feline friend. Care to buy some equipment?"

"Oh, no." the Judge chuckled. "This is only a temporary partnership, so I won't be needing any armaments."

"Ha ha, of course. What about you, new Add-On? Typically, new party members need to be re-armed, as their starter equipment - if you have any - tend to be lackluster."

"...Uh..." Omega stammered. For once in his life, Omega could not understand what somebody was saying. "I'm not sure what you mean, but, uh, I guess I'll buy some armor. ...I don't have any credits, but..."

"I'll be paying." the Batter sighed, pulling out crumpled credits from his pocket and laying them out before Zacharie. "Do you have any new equipment for me?"

"Why, of course I do! After all, my inventory is tailor-made for all playable characters." Zacharie said, pulling out his inventory from the counter shelves; among them was a stack of different colored Luck Tickets. "You'll be happy to know what I now have Fortune Tickets available - it heals much more than Luck Tickets."

"Right. I think I'll take seven of tho-"

"D-don't forget the Jokers." Omega sternly reminded.

The Batter glared at him, making the Add-On back off. Zacharie made a hearty chuckle as he brought the Jokers out anyway.

After purchasing everything that was needed, they proceeded to the next room. As they walked, various members of the group occasionally glanced at a poster lining a wall: advertisements for baseball bats, plastic furniture, plastic mannequins, all sorts of interesting commodities. The next room had a barricade to the immediate left, which practically forces them to take the door on the far right of the hall. However, there seemed to be something peculiar behind he barricade - a button that looked like the walking signal for crosswalks.

"Is that a device that summons a pedalo?" the Judge asked, squinting his eyes to get a better look at it.

"I think so." the Batter replied.

"Why would there be a button here if there's nothing to ride the damn thing in?" Alpha questioned.

"I'm not entirely sure. It's worth investigating later. For now though, we're still on the lookout for my sibling." the Judge jumped down from the Batter's shoulder (who immediately started brushing cat hair off his tunic). "Now, I've heard that the shopping center has a labyrinth-like structure, and, when combined with the uproarious specter contamination, exploring the area will be quite tedious. So, if I may suggest, we should split into pairs to give the place a quicker excavation."

"Good idea. Omega, you're with me." The Batter started to walk ahead with a serious stride.

"Er, yes, I'm coming. We've already wasted enough time as it is, and justice cannot be hindered by time..." the justice minded Add-On quickly followed.

The Judge looked up at the leftover Add-On. "Ah yes, what an appropriate set-up; if I recall, I was the one who first located you."

"And you were frustrated like a goddamn baby that you couldn't join up with me." Alpha said, in a mocking tone.

"I won't deny that happened - I was quite surprised to learn that we couldn't properly bond and join forces." the cat shrugged as he started to trot toward the door. "However, you were the least of my worries. I was searching for dear Valerie in the rain filled Zone, and I was quite anxious - my dear sibling might have gotten soaked, and that's unbecoming for a feline."

"Blah bah blah, yap yap yap, let's just get this started."

* * *

The blue hallways seemed to stretch into infinity, at least, it looked that way to the Batter and Omega. The two justice-seekers were seemingly lost in the den of consumerism. Crates, posters, and mannequins lined the walls, seemingly staring at them as they passed.

A befuddled Batter looked at his companion for some help. "Do you know anything about this shopping center that could help?"

"Um... unfortunately, no. I only know basic facts that I've learned from the books in..."

"Hehehehe..."

Omega got agitated. "H-hey now, you don't need to laugh at me. I know that it's unorthodox to learn about... such an important place from books, but-"

"I wasn't the one who laughed." the Batter interrupted. "I never laugh."

Knowing full well that laughter doesn't come from nowhere, the two immediately scanned the surrounding area for the sound of the laughter. They heard another giggle; the Batter's eyes fixated on a box of metals, which rumbled a bit.

Then, the side of the crate burst open. Two rodent like ghouls crawled out, chewing on bits of metal while giggling through their teeth. They looked up at the two purifiers and immediately became agitated - they don't appreciate it when other people show up on their turf.

The Batter stepped away slowly as they started to inch toward them, using a Wide Angle while doing so. "Those ghouls are Massus, ghouls of fulminant chakra. There is nothing notable about them, other than their weakness against smoke."

"R-right..." Omega was a bit unnerved by the rodent like ghouls, but regardless, he was floating up towards them, ready for his first foray into combat. "Alright you loiterers, h-have a taste of my might!" The bright light that radiated from Omega started to blur, and the air around him seemed to shimmer; he was using Optimised Blur as his first attack. The blurred out Add-On flew at a Massu, hoping that the attack would be of incredible impact, or perhaps even cataclysmic. Putting all of his hopes in the attack, he struck the Massu.

Unfortunately, the attack was of little impact. There was only a small scratch on the Massu. The ghoul seemed more annoyed than anything.

"I... perhaps t-that wasn't the best example of myyyaaargh!" he screamed as the Massu bit him.

The Batter came to his rescue, delivering a Special Homerun to the Massu, knocking the ghoul away. The baseball themed warrior stepped around the Add-On and gave one last, normal hit to the Massu, who screeched as the bat finished him off. Omega recovered and turned toward the remaining ghoul, going into Optimised Blur mode again (perhaps to make up for his embarrassing first attack). He charged at the Massu, and this time, the attack was much stronger, creating a gash in the Massu's stomach. The Batter swung his bat once more, finishing off that enemy as well.

"Adversaries purified." the Batter said, slinging his bat over his shoulder. "Let's continue on."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Judge and Alpha took a different route from the others. Unfortunately, like them, they had no idea where they were going. While the arrangements of set pieces changed, the galleries still looked like never ending hallways.

"This is worse than Dedan's stupid musical maze." Alpha growled, knocking over a mannequin to emphasis his anger.

"I agree. I am compelled to hope that there is an individual watching us with an overhead perspective of this place, so that we may be guided toward the correct destination." the cat shook his head. "Unfortunately, even if we are being observed, they can't do much to help. Perhaps this "Narrator" being might, though."

"Hey, Hyper, do us a favor and help us out?"

Hm? Did you say "send in a specter to deal with you?" Why, of course you did.

Just then, they spotted something turning the corner up ahead. An enemy. The ectoplasm spotted them and she giggled - the thought of ripping them apart was appealing to her. The ghoul, who looked like a grown up version of a Tiburce, started to step towards them.

"Oh fuck you, Hyper."

However, despite this sudden change, the Judge looked very unconcerned, giving the advancing enemy a thoughtful look. "Ah, I believe that the specter charging at us is a Gilles de Rais, a mundane ghoul that happens to wield Heavy Silence. This type of ghoul has the honor of being unaffected by attacks from Add-Ons - it's rumored that their skin negates the powerful glow of an Add-On. Alpha, I recommend that you shall leave me to handle this."

Alpha was very skeptical. To him, the Judge was just a cat, after all. "Oh yeah? What can you do?"

"I could do this." the Judge said in a cheerful tone as he bounded toward the Gilles de Rais. The cat closed his eyes and chanted, "Critical Aneurysm." He opened his eyes and a target made of light developed on his head. The Judge leaped forward, claws outstretched.

Then, with a single slice, the Gilles de Rais was already letting out a death screech. Blood spilled from the ghoul's chest, which was cut into ribbons from the superpowered scratch. The Gilles de Rais twitched a bit in her last moments before disappearing.

The Judge licked some of the blood that got on him before looking back at Alpha.

The Add-On was completely dumbstruck.

He silently followed the cat, who had taken the lead.

* * *

The Gomez Galleries was a treacherous maze. The Batter and Omega, though having found several lost treasures in the process, have not managed to locate the cat yet. They occasionally heard pacing behind a wall, but there didn't seem to be a way to get to the other side. To add to this wild goose chase, they were constantly under attack by the specters residing in the shopping center; as frightening as they were, though, they were more of a distraction than anything.

"H-hey!" Omega called to the Batter after a battle against a Massu and Gilles de Rais. He was floating next to a doorway. "I don't think we've explored this room before."

The duo entered. Unfortunately, they were disappointed by what they found. It seemed little more than a storage room, with a trapped Elsen inside.

"O-o-oh. H-hello." the Elsen made a nervous twitch. "Do you know how to ward off.. the specters? I-I've considered starting a fire to scare them off... but... it seems too dangerous..."

"Yes. It's dangerous and illegal." Omega said. "I commend you for not going through with your act of... um, arson."

"...T-thank you...?" the Elsen replied in a confused tone, wondering why a floating ring was talking to him.

Omega was already leaving, but the Batter remained in the room. He looked at the crates in the room (bearing, "WARNING: FLAMMABLE), fingers at his chin. "Hmm... are the specters really frightened by fire?"

* * *

The Judge and Alpha did not have much luck in locating Valerie either. The ghouls were less of a nuisance for them, however, as the Judge simply steamrolled through them, while Alpha could only watch in awe. They did, however, manage to find...

"Amazing." the Judge said, mesmerized by the image on the wall.

"Oh, for the love of..." Alpha muttered.

Standing before them, painted on the wall, was a happy, cartoon cat used for an advertisement for Alma cat food.

"The fine form, the precise brush strokes, the composition... truly, this is a work of art that will be remembered by decades to come." the Judge gushed. If he didn't have any self-control, a tear would be rolling down his cheek.

Alpha decided to ignore him and advanced to the next room; he was back at the room near the lobby of the mall, this time, on the other side of the barriers. He pressed the now accessible pedalo button; while the barriers dropped, the pedalo was still nowhere in sight, which was rather obvious.

Alpha poked back into the room, where the Judge was still admiring the "work of art". "Hey, I pressed that button from earlier."

"How splendid. Perhaps we have to..." the Judge's nose crinkled. Suddenly, a look of fear took over his face, even suppressing his smile. "...we need to abscond from the premises. Immediately."

The Add-On watched the cat scurry toward the entrance room. "Hey, what's the rush?"

The Judge looked up at him and simply answered, "I smell smoke."

* * *

Omega floated aimlessly, trying to keep out of sight from any malevolent specters (aka, all of them). He was immensely pleased to see the Batter again. Even if he was gone for just a bit, the specters of the mall were a bit too terrifying for Omega's standards. "Batter, thank goodness you're here! I can no longer take the rather... terrifying giggling from these phantoms by my lonesome! Just hearing their treacherous, um, giggles from all directions is a paranoia-inducing experie-"

His rant faded into stutters as the Batter simply ran past him.

He slowly turned. "Er... B-Batter?"

Without breaking his base stealing run, the Batter slightly rotated his head and mouthed, "Run."

Omega looked back down the hall, where the room with the Elsen was.

Smoke was drifting down the passage at an alarming rate.

"...H-h-he didn't...!" oh, the Add-On was getting riled up now. How dare the Batter commit arson - or, even worse, convinced the Elsen to go through with it? The Batter's methods are getting more and more questionable; sure, this may ward off the specters, but at the price of the establishment? Omega was already thinking of a scolding rant to give. His boss needed to be educated of the errors of his ways!

At the moment, though, he needed to escape. Even if Add-Ons can't breathe, it would be terrible if he burned to death. So, Omega started to fly after the Batter, screaming like a little girl.

The Batter was already coughing. The building material seemed to be catching fire easily, as if it was made of paper. Imperfect. Yes. The world that the Queen had built is imperfect. Can't even withstand a fire.

_"Oh well... why live in an unsafe world where our buildings can set aflame...?"_

Those were the words that the Elsen said before the Batter left him behind in the flames. The unstable man didn't even try to follow. However, upon mere reflection, the man wasn't unstable.

The whole world was. The Batter is going to fix that. A purified world will solve all its problems. However, the world can't be purified if he was going to let himself burn up in a measly fire.

The Batter's resolve strengthened. He ran as fast as he could, so fast that his floating companion could not keep up.

A scratching noise was heard. Then, as if floating through a wall like a specter, Valerie appeared. The Batter was so absorbed in dealing with the specters that he completely lost sight of his original goal.

"Valerie! Halt! Do not cause me to resort to force!"

The cat merely shot him a glance - a cold, unforgiving glance - before he started running.

"H-hey! Y-your brother's worried about you! W-We are only trying to help!" the worried Add-On exclaimed.

Valerie did not stop. He bounded down the halls and streaked past an intersection.

Before the purificatory heroes followed, something appeared. Taking the other path in the hallway intersection, a large being floated, knocking over the groups of boxes strewn around the place. A single horrible eye, positioned over a large set of teeth, stared into their souls as it passed by.

Then, just like that, the monster was gone. In the midst of the moment, Valerie had disappeared.

"I... w-what!" Omega had recognized the being. He was not sure whether the creature was a horrible illusion cast by Valerie, or a hallucination among the smoke.

The appearance of the thing even halted the Batter's progress. After a second of being in disbelief, he shook his head and continued. If he couldn't find Valerie, he at least needed to escape.

However, the Batter and Omega escaped the place without encountering Valerie again. From a safe distance away, they saw the Judge, Alpha, and Zacharie watching in shock as the Gomez Galleries burned down while the Elsen that was on the steps earlier was running away, frightened.

Zacharie was the first to notice them and was welcoming. "Hahaha, what did I tell you? Of course our main characters would survive, despite the unexpected change in plot!"

"Goodness, what could have been the catalyst for the fire?" the Judge questioned loudly.

Omega shoved the Batter.

The Batter changed the subject. "We saw Valerie, but he got away from us."

"W-Why is your br-brother so hostile?" Omega asked the Judge. "All he d-does is run and hide from us!"

"And kill us." Alpha quietly added.

"I am not entirely sure myself. In fact, if I didn't know better, Valerie could have been avoiding me the whole time I was searching for him." the Judge said, looking down on the ground, almost sad.

Zacharie looked around at the group of heroes before chuckling feebly. "Well, I'm not one for emotional torment and frustration... I also need to find a new place to set up shop... so... I'll be leaving for now. I'll see you again in two more chapters." The fourth-wall breaker quickly left the scene.

"...Well, at least the shopping mall was desolate to begin with, so there won't be a large amount of the populace losing their heads over this horrible incident." the Judge said, looking on the bright side. He looked back to the Elsen; the guy had knocked himself out running into a wall.

"Yes. Plus, at least the specter infestation has been dealt with." the Batter chipped in.

"B-Batter, n-not only were the ghouls, well, completely irrelevant to what we were doing, but  _did you really have to resort to committing ars-_ "

"Hey, sorry to break this up." interrupted an unapologetic Alpha. "Look, before everything started burning and shit, I pressed that pedalo button. Maybe the pedalo will lead us to Valerie, wherever it is."

"W-what makes you think that?"

"Look, it's the only fucking lead we have so far and I'm tired of running around looking for a stupid cat." the aggressive Add-On noticed the displeased look the Judge was giving him. Remembering the Judge's Competences, he frightfully added, "N-no offense."

The talking cat nodded. "I apologize to you as well for my unsettling glare. However, that's not important. Right now, we must locate Valerie. I'll scour the city to see if he's taken refuge there, while you investigate the matter of the pedalo - surely, it must be of some importance."

"Agreed." the Batter said, although, he briefly wondered why the Judge would take the seemingly harder task - to him, he was just a cat, after all.

"Right. How about we reunite at, oh, say, the residential district on the East side of Bismark after we have all our business completed?"

More agreements.

"That's settled then. I shall be seeing you all soon, and I profoundly wish you the best of luck." the Judge cast one last glance of the radiant glow of what used to be the mall before trotting away.

The Batter took a short moment to watch the fire he had started. He watched the fire-started smoke trail up into the air before it chemically breaks up into the smoke breathable by the Elsens. He was sure that the Gomez Galleries would just fade into nothing more than a memory; if anything, the Elsens would be happy that the den of phantoms is gone. Behind him, Omega had just finished up recapping what had happened in the mall, and both Add-Ons, despite their personalities, united to stare at the Batter in complete shock, wondering what kind of a person he was.

Finally, the Batter took up his namesake and turned to confront his spiritual comrades. "Let's get going. I have an idea where the pedalo might be."

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE**._

_**Author's Note:**  Sometimes I like stamping on canon boundaries but the rest of the time I'm scared of alienating people that would take my stories seriously._

_This chapter was originally going to contain both the mall and amusement park segments, but this chapter is already longer than the last one. I really don't want you people to feel bored._

_Remember to leave your reviews, be they praises, complaints, or death threats! I appreciate them all the same!_


	7. The Unfun Attractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are they having fun at the amusement park? I'm not entirely sure.
> 
> What I am sure of is that "unfun" is not a word.

_**Author's Note:**  Beep boop, Shin Megami Tensei IV is great._

_Also hey I posted my 3DS friend code on my profile._

_Please hang out with me._

_The story is now on **ON**._

* * *

_**Chapter 6:**  The Unfun Attractions_

* * *

The Batter had a good idea on where the pedalo appeared. He led his duo of Add-Ons away from the Gomez Galleries (which was still being eaten up by flames). Upon reaching the library, they took a right and went down the next path to the west side of Bismark, where the mainland faced the far-off amusement park. Thankfully, the Batter's hunch was right, as, bobbing in the liquid plastic, was a nice pedalo.

Omega scrunched his thoughts together, trying to figure out why a button in the northern part of town would spawn something in the western part. "Hmm... I-I believe that the b-button we found in the shopping gallery is used for a monetary factor. I-If I recall, the amusement park has free admission, s-so naturally, some people want to make money off of it. Yes... the merchants at the Gomez Galleries most likely charged people to get rides to the island. That... that makes perfect sense."

"Why are you always rambling?" the Batter openly asked.

"...I-I'll be quiet..."

The Batter got into the water vehicle, setting his feet against the pedals. Alpha floated closely to the vehicle. He stared into the plastic, recalling the fight against the Valzong-Burnt; then he started to speculate what effects the burning mall would have on the citizens. "Those Elsens better not turn into Burnts because of that fiasco..."

Omega was curious about his change in demeanor. "Are you saying that because... you're... worried about the Elsens."

"Pffft. No. I'm just tired of fighting stupid Burnts. Yeah."

"All Elsens eventually become Burnt, in time." the Batter murmured.

"Hmm? What do ya mean by that?"

"Recall the Elsens in Zone 1. They were stressed, they were tired, they were overworked - which lead to them taking their spectral forms." The Batter started pedaling, the rows making nice splashing sounds, which was comforting in comparison to the sound of churning meat. "If things continued to run its course, many Elsens would have become Burnt. The offices would become graveyards and the meat would contain more blood than it naturally contains."

Alpha quietly admitted in his head that he was probably right.

"All Elsens in this world will become Burnts, spurned on by a variety of troubles - good intentioned people being filled with grief and becoming monstrous abominations. The same will run its course here - the Elsens here are notably more paranoid."

"That... is a tragic truth." Omega confirmed. "I've heard some stories... of Elsens locking themselves away in their homes... the, um, comforts aren't enough to quell their paranoia."

"Exactly. However, if I purify the Zones..." the Batter was interrupted as the pedalo slammed into the tiny island that has the staircase that leads underground. "Oh, we're here."

The man disembarked. From there, he could see that the amusement park was on a raised platform (presumably because of government regulations. Or something.), so the only way to go was down.

There was a well-lit tunnel underground, which goes in the direction of the park; most likely, it's an underground entrance.

"Omega, do you know anything about the amusement park?" the Batter requested.

"Indeed I do!" the Add-On answered, joyful that his information laden rants were finally going to be useful. "T-the amusement park was constructed by... a man named... Zacharie, commissioned by this Zone's guardian."

"Zacharie?" the other Add-On asked.

"Yes. Do you, um, know him?"

"He's the mask wearing chump from earlier."

"Oh, really now? That's fascinating! Although, he doesn't... er... look like a chump to me."

"Maybe it's because you're a chump too."

"Wha-? I-I am no "chump"!"

"Well, you sure as hell act like one."

"W-why I never..."

"Please don't fight." the Batter interrupted. "Continue, Omega."

'Right. Acting belligerent isn't, um, good." the intelligent Add-On coughed. "Now, back on topic. The park consists of three attractions: a balloon popping game that's a variation of the logical Game of Nim challenge, a pedalo ride through sweet smelling plastic, and a rollercoaster. However, um, recent public displeasure has lead to the old rollercoaster being shut down and replaced with, er, a new, more family friendly and less danger prone ride. There is a rumor that there's a switch in the pedalo ride attraction that grants access to the old rollercoaster, but, it's m-merely speculation."

"I-interesing." his handler replied.

"...? Is something wrong, Batter? I noticed you stammering."

"I'm fine." the man insisted. They finally reached the end of the tunnel and they ascend up to the surface.

The sun, or whatever constituted as the sun in the world of OFF, shined above the amusement park's entrance; nearby the sun, the structure of a rollercoaster was seen, as if it was trying to reach for it. Like the rest of Bismark, the park is a relaxing pink, easing visitors as they tour around.

They were in the queue to the amusement park, which was devoid of any other souls; considering that the only way in what inaccessible until that point, of course it would be empty, you ding dongs. However, there was something... ominous in the queue. The trio of heroes, forced by social and game mechanics, had to slowly go through the snaking path, heading ever so closer and closer to the thing. The object floated ominously as they approached and...

...the balloon exploded, jarring Omega.

"Aaaah!" the startled Add-On screamed.

"Chump." coughed Alpha..

The Batter crouched down and sifted through the remains of the balloon (probably made of plastic or something) and then pulled a prize from its carcass. "A free Fortune Ticket? I'll accept it." He pocketed the ticket and they continued on their way. There was no one there to sell them tickets, so they continued unhindered; maybe Omega was right about the whole monetization thing.

The entrance led to an in-doors plaza, which had a few Elsens milling around. How they even got there is anyone's guess. One greeted the Batter and the Add-Ons as they entered. "Welcome to the amusement park, off the mainland of Zone 2. It's... a nice place, isn't it?"

The Batter looked around. While the place looked nice, it was dead silent. Which was the opposite of what parks should sound like. "I... suppose so."

"Yes. It is here that ordinary citizens can pursue fun activities to ease their boredom. It's located far off from the main city so that, uh, we won't bother people. As one of the three comforts, the amusement park is the most important.

"Without the amusement park, people will be bored. They will become restless until they descend into madness."

"...Sir..." Omega said. "I... I doubt that the lack of an amusement park would cause a city to, well, descend into... er... insanity."

"Well, regardless of what you believe, I hope you, er, have an enjoyable time. I know I am." the Elsen cracked a little smile. "I am having the time of my life, standing around in this lobby. The o-other attractions are just too... hhh... extreme for me."

The Elsen briefly had a recollection about the park's attractions.

He promptly doubled over and threw up.

"...We should leave." Alpha said, to the agreement of his other two teammates. They went down the hallway to their right, where they find an Elsen blocking the door in the middle of the hallway.

"I-I'm sorry, you cannot enter this room." the Elsen rasped. "Only the boss can enter... u-unless you're an acquaintance of his."

The three heroes glanced at each other, questioning if they're close enough with Zacharie to enter his room and take his shit.

"...Before you ask, buying things from him does not constitute as... a proper friendship."

Rejected by the guard, the three went back to the plaza (the Elsen that had thrown up was now unconscious due to trauma from throwing up). They had several questions in their minds, however, the most important question that they were all subconsciously agreeing on was...

"What now?" they said in unison.

"I'm not sure." the Batter stated. "As far as we know, this place is completely irrelevant to our goals."

"It has to have some importance though, right? That barricade from earlier was practically asking for us to go around the fucking place to press that damn button." Alpha pointed out.

"We need to investigate further before we, ah, jump to conclusions." suggested Omega.

"Right. To investigate this place quickly, we should split up. Again." plotted the Batter.

"Hopefully, no more arson will be committed."

"I'll try not to."

"Alright. I'm going to check out the pedalo attraction. Don't try arguing with me." Alpha said, floating down the hallway they just walked through before the others could choose.

"Ooookay... well, my choice is f-fairly obvious - I choose the balloon popping game." said Omega. "I know about the Game of Nim, so I may be able to outmaneuver my opponent."

Despite it being a sensible choice, the Batter actually raised an objection to it. "But... I don't want to go to the rollercoaster."

"You... don't want to...?"

"I-I mean..." he stammered before composing himself to his usual stoic self. "I don't want to go yet. I'll ask around for information first before I do so."

"Oh, I see! For a second, I had the impression that you have a phobia of rollercoasters!"

"That's utterly ridiculous."

Despite that, the Batter found himself shaking a little.

Luckily, Omega had already turned his back. Or... whatever qualifies as his back. "Good luck on your end, Batter."

"You too."

After his Add-On left, the purificatory hero let out a rather loud sigh of relief, lifted up his hat a bit, and brushed away the sweat that was forming on his forehead.

* * *

Surprisingly, Alpha was enjoying the attraction.

He had foregone the pedalo at the entrance, instead, opting to float over the plastic. The plastic gave off a warm aura, relaxing the Add-On's spherical body as he slowly traversed across the liquid, the scent of flowers invading his senses. It was like Heaven, if Heaven is rose-scented. The whole experience had him forgetting things, such as the fact that he's essentially helping a guy who's sociopathic (at best) murder the leaders of the world.

Along the way, he encountered balloons such as the one at the entrance, all containing prizes, which he made sure to get. The prize-collecting was fun to him, especially since he wasn't being hindered by the hidden rollers in the plastic that would have pushed away pedalos trying to get prizes.

Then, he came across something: a switch that was on on, with a sign telling him not to switch it.

So of course, he chose to switch it on off.

* * *

"Should I explain the rules to this game?"

Omega was outside with an Elsen behind a booth that was running the balloon popping game. There were 13 balloons floating between them and Omega had already formulated a strategy; as long as he avoided getting stuck with 5 balloons, he could lead himself to victory.

"Yes, I am aware of the rules." the Add-On answered; they take turns popping one, two, or three balloons and the person left with one balloon left loses.

"Okay. But I warn you, this game isn't for, ah, the faint-hearted."

"Er... I can take it."

"Ah... well, I feel the need to mention that if you lose, you may become, um... depressed, so be careful. Of course, if you win, you get... a grand prize, so there's that to consider. Now, let's... begin." the Elsen prodded a single balloon and it popped.

Suddenly, a scream resonated from the plaza. " _The sp-specters are upon us!_ "

The man running the game ignored him. "Your turn."

Omega popped one balloon. The Elsen popped three. Omega took out three, ensuring his victory. The Elsen popped one. Somewhere, more Elsens screamed from the sound of popping. Omega then eliminated three.

The Elsen stared blankly at the final balloon, as if in a trance. Then, he slowly said, "I... I lost? That's... hhhh... impossible. I've cheated the whole time."

"What?" the Add-On seemed more confused than outrage. "It's... it's impossible to cheat at this game. You'd have to be blatantly popping more balloons than allowed to-"

"You... you..." the Elsen pointed a pale, bony finger at him as smoke started to spill from his mouth. " _You bear me much ill-will!_ "

Then, with a pop that was more resounding than the pops of the balloons, the Elsen's head combusted. Omega quickly backed away, frightened by the sudden transformation. He watched as a Valzong-Burnt approached from where the game runner was once standing.

"This... isn't... g-good." Omega said to himself.

* * *

The "new" rollercoaster was only a coaster in name. Chairs spread into rows, affixed to the ground held Elsens in seatbelts. Despite the ride being completely stationary (and not a ride at all), its occupants were terrified. One Elsen at the very front had his head hanging to the side, as he had fallen unconscious due to how extreme the ride was. Another was crying. Even the Batter found the whole thing pitiable.

However, even the Batter had fear in his heart, but it wasn't toward the new rollercoaster.

The Batter glanced at the old rollercoaster, which was blocked off by a gate. The wooden structure stretches into the sky, being strangled by the clouds. He briefly imagined being up there and became almost as nauseous as the Elsen in the plaza.

He was scared of heights. He could handle scaling up a tower if he was indoors, but he was frightened when a chance to fall and splatter on the ground was presented. The holy mission he was on could be cut short by just a fall - specters can be killed, but not the laws of physics, and don't we all want to kill physics?

Thankfully, the area the Batter was in was fairly safe and oh shit wait, is that the gate opening? Oh yeah, it's opening. It's as if someone somewhere flipped a switch. Regardless, go investigate, Batter.

"I..." the Batter clenched his fist. "O-okay."

He advanced toward the rollercoaster, trying to maintain his stoic composure. At the very base of the coaster was a stall with an Elsen inside it.

"...? How... did you get in here?" the Elsen asked.

"The gate's open now." the man paused. "On that note, how did you get in here if the place was closed?"

"I've been trapped here... since the rollercoaster closed."

"Oh."

"I... I keep waving at the people beyond the fence, but they say that it's too dangerous to... attempt a rescue." he then coughed and changed the subject. "Since the gate's open I... suppose this ride is now open. Every ride is free and comes with a free commemorative photo. It's fun. For the whole family."

"...and... how do I get on?"

The worker pointed at a narrow staircase leading up toward a slightly unstable platform.

"...Of course."

* * *

Alpha had dipped himself in the plastic and was now enjoying the rose-scented liquids as if it was a hot tub. Ah.

* * *

Meanwhile, a bruised Omega was flying around the area of the balloon popping game, occasionally turning to hit the Valzong-Burnt that was chasing him.

"S-Sir, you are over-reacting!" screamed Omega.

"Aaaaaaargh!" screeched the Valzong-Burnt in reply. He pounced toward the floating right, burnt claws outstretched. Omega let out a scream and striked back with Optimised Blur. A horrible cracking noise came from the Burnt as the hit connected and the monster was knocked aside.

"O-o-oh no! Are you... alright?" asked Omega, appalled by what he did himself; sure, the Elsen was aggressive and started the fight, but he didn't want it to end like this.

"You... you... win..." the Valzong-Burnt stammered. He put his hand in his pocket and shakily brought out a small box as he started to fade. "Take... it..."

Then he died.

Now Omega was feeling worse, considering that the Valzong-Burnt still honored the game by giving him a prize. The Add-On opened the box, to see if the whole thing was worth it.

He pulled out a necktie.

"...I... I m-murdered somebody over a  _necktie?_ "

* * *

The Batter finally reached the top of the stairs, after several minutes of taking careful steps. A rollercoaster cart was on the tracks right next to the platform, in pristine condition, despite not being in use for awhile. The platform was also barren... with the exception of a stone statue of Zacharie - the likeliness was uncanny.

"I-I should ride in front." the Batter told himself, planning to take his fear head-on in hopes of quelling it. Before he got in, however, he glanced at the statue once again.

Then, he remembered the Elsen guarding Zacharie's office and the photo that would come with the ride.

With that, an idea clicked into his head...

* * *

When Alpha entered the plaza after a relaxing time, he found that everyone inside was running around and screaming.

"I h-hear explosions! It is the end!"

"Why can't I get over this wall! The sp-specters will devour me!"

"Wow, look at these pools of plastic indoors. What a crazy concept."

"I don't want to expire!"

"Aaaah I'm screaming!"

However, there didn't seem to be any specters in sight, so Alpha didn't really care. He was concerned, though, when Omega arrived, bruised and bloody. "Oh shit, what happened?"

"I... I have committed a crime..."

"...How hardcore was that balloon popping game?"

"..." Omega was silent.

"Ooookay." Alpha dodged to the side to allow a running Elsen pass him. "Let's see how the Batter's doing."

* * *

The Batter flopped out of the rollercoaster car and started crawling, legs too shaky to support him. "How degrading..." he thought. He resisted the urge to void the contents of his stomach, at least until he reaches the commemorative photo stand.

"Hello, sir. Are you... feeling well?" the Elsen asked as he spotted the tunic wearing man crawling toward him.

"Eventually." the Batter answered, pulling out a Belial's Meat and chewing on it in hopes of making him feel better.

"Right then. Here's your photo... oh my, you've ridden with the boss? You are a lucky man."

The Batter looked behind his shoulder and sees the stone statue of Zacharie in the rollercoaster cart, which he pushed in himself. He slowly got up, pulling himself together. He thanked the Elsen for the photo and swiped it out of his hands before walking away with an air of relief.

When he returned to the new coaster site, he found his Add-Ons there, waiting for him. "Hey Batter, I got some sweet shit." said Alpha, handing all the prizes he found in the pedalo attraction.

"Thanks." the Batter turned his head toward Alpha and frowned. "What happened to you?"

"I have d-done a heinous deed..."

"Okay." with that, the Batter casually healed him.

"So, are we leaving this place already?" asked Alpha.

"Not yet. I have something that might get us into Zacharie's office." they went over to where the Elsen guard was (on the way, the Add-Ons had to explain that the Elsens were panicking for no reason to prevent the Batter from going on a specter hunt).

"...Y-you again?" the Elsen said, who was sweating furiously and was trying to keep himself from freaking out like his brethren.

"I have proof that we're friends with Zacharie." the man pulled out the commemorative photo.

"Oh! Y-you've ridden with the boss? How wonderful. That's something friends do. You may enter; now, if you excuse me..." the Elsen started to run in circles, freaking out as bad as nearly everyone else before bumping into a wall and knocking himself out cold.

"What's on that photo? Lemme see." Alpha demanded.

The Batter looked down at the photo. It showed him screaming his head off and holding on for dear life while Zacharie's statue screamed lifelessly. He faced Alpha and said, "I don't know."

"I know something's on there! Show it to me!"

Without any reasonable method to get rid of his embarrassing moment, the Batter opted to stuff the photo in his mouth and swallow it.

"...Ooookay." the Add-On backed away from him.

They entered the office, which seemed to be less of an office and more of a place to stash things. There were several treasure chests in the room, which the heroes were eager to open up in hopes of advancing their goal. Unfortunately, there was nothing plot relevant in the chests - only orbs of different colors.

"What are these...?" a legitimately confused Batter questioned.

Omega seemed to recognize them. "Oh... these are orbs. Using them on one's self st-stengthens their attributes, such as physical strength and the mental strength that empowers Competences."

"Are these relevant to our goals?"

"No, no they're not."

"So... what exactly did we accomplish?" inquired Alpha, wondering if there was a point to this whole amusement park area that's been going on for 2000+ words so far.

"These orbs are useful, but not exactly what we were looking for." the Batter said with a scowl on his face.

"...I murdered a man over a necktie." Omega said quietly.

"A necktie?"

Omega sadly nodded. Or shook. Whatever, he's a fucking onion ring.

They shared the orbs, the people needing them the most raising their attributes, before leaving the office. The amusement park area was calmer than it was earlier; of course, that's only because a majority of the frenzied Elsens conked themselves out during all the hysteria. As they exited out to the park's entrance, they started to wonder where they should go next, and whether it'd actually be worth it or not.

* * *

A cat licked his fur in victory, another horde of phantoms banished.

Japhet, or rather, Valerie, stood out on one of the library's balconies near the top of the tower, overlooking the city. There was much more work to be done about the specters, and some of them still lingered in the tower itself like the dusty, untouched books.

His eyes wandered over to the northern part of the city, which was now nothing more than smoldering ruins. On one hand, the specters in that area were all extinguished. On the other hand, it no longer existed, which was definitely a problem.

"That tunic-wearing felon... he must have done this..!" Valerie said to himself in a bitter tone "He's a threat to my people... nay, to the Queen's world! That man must be rid of!"

His eyes continued to look down on the dreary buildings. Then, among all the pink, he spotted what looked like a white cloud, floating toward the residential district.

"...Hold on... real clouds do not float that low..."

* * *

The main party reached the mainland, riding in a new pedalo. The Batter and stretched his legs while Alpha complained, "That was a waste of time; a nice waste of time but still a fucking waste of time."

"Yes, I doubt that a-anything we did back there was relevant. I only hope that this necktie will be, uh, important."

"Alright, so, what part of the city have we not been to aside from the higher floors of the library?" asked the Batter.

"We haven't been to the east side." Alpha suggested.

"Perfect. If we don't find anything there, we can just wait for the Judge to come around to see if he knows anything." said the Batter.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrive at the other end of the city. The residential area of Bismark is boxed in, with a blockade at its only entrance, like a gated community. There was an Elsen near the blockade, who gave them a suspicious look.

"I-I'm sorry sirs, but I cannot let you... in. Only residents may enter. You must understand that it's for the... hhh... safety of our citizens."

The three turned away from the Elsen to discuss how to get in. "Maybe there's a switch somewhere?" Alpha suggested quietly.

"Maybe. There's usually a switch." the Batter whispered back.

"Or could we just bribe the guy?"

"With what?" Omega replied.

"That stupid tie you're carrying, maybe?"

"Tie...? ...Hold the phone!" Omega shouted, jarring his two allies. "Batter, hold still!"

The Batter, although shocked, chose not to question the Add-On as he flew around him, tying the necktie to his neck.

The Elsen looked at him and had a sudden 180. "Oh! I apologize, I didn't recognize you as a citizen, um, at first!"

The Batter and Alpha were baffled as to how the tie managed to convince him, but they were glad that they were having some progress done. Without any visible method, the Elsen lowered the blockade to allow the Batter through. However, before Alpha and Omega could enter, the Elsen blocked their way.

"Sorry!" the Elsen looked apologetic. "Even if you're, um, friends with him, you still cannot enter without, well, a valid reason. How about you spend time in... the library? It's nice and safe there."

"Er... we do have a reason." Alpha said, with an awkward cough that told the others that he was totally making this up on the spot.

"Oh?"

"...We're from the union."

The Batter had a look of dismay while Omega looked befuddled.

"The union?" the second Add-On asked.

Alpha nudged him. "Yeah, the union. We're, uhhh... here to check the homes of the workers! To see if they're safe and cozy, or some shit."

For a moment, it looked like Alpha had said something incredibly stupid. Thankfully, the Elsen is still a dipshit. "Oh... why didn't you say so? Please, come in. The safety of others come first, I suppose."

The Add-Ons entered - Alpha in particular was surprised that had even worked.

"Please never bring up the union ever again." the Batter muttered to Alpha.

"You guys are actually participating in a union?" asked Omega.

"We founded it. Not that we wanted to..."

The residential area is a nice, idyllic part of the Zone, where nothing usually happens - exactly how its citizens would prefer it to be. Just like with the rest of the city, it was unusually quiet, the only noises coming from the plastic streams that runs through the city. At least, it was supposed to be quiet.

In the northernmost part of the area, a voice could be heard. "...you must heed my warnings! Specters will be upon us any minute now and you must evacuate while I deal with the situation!"

The Batter, Alpha, and Omega went toward the voice and in the area's plaza, they saw Valerie, at the top of a set of stairs, trying to get attention from the Elsens there. However, it seemed that the cat was the judge of an unruly court, trying desperately to rein their attentions back to the matter at hand.

"Where is that voice coming from...?"

"Are the... sp-specters real?"

"No, it's presumably somebody throwing their voice, trying to prank us."

"Yes. This place is very safe."

"No! No it isn't!" screamed Valerie with a mixture of desperation and frustration.

"Where is the voice?"

"I only see an old cat..."

"See? Someone's pretending that the cat is speaking. What... a mean prank."

"C-cat? ….Cats sometimes carry diseases. I find that... unsettling."

"Listen to my pleas! I am Japhet, the creator of this city! I may not look like it, but..."

Valerie's begging was absorbed into nothingness as the Elsens started to speculate who was "pranking" them. Meanwhile, a light fog started to set it, as the situation worsens.

"What's with this damn fog?" Alpha openly asked. "Even I know that fog just doesn't come from nowhere."

Even the Batter and Omega were at a loss. Out of curiosity, the Batter tried to use Wide Angle to scan the Silent Hill like phenomenon. Then, the expression on his face flickered into a scowl when he identified it. "This isn't fog."

That's when the true nature of the fog revealed itself. Cackling came from deep within the fog, which alarmed everyone. Then, a smiling face appeared in the fog. Then another. Then another. Faces kept appearing until it became apparent that the laughter came from the fog itself. The villainous faces of the specters stared down at the Elsens, who started to panic.

"T-the specters are real!" one screamed while twitching.

"Hhhhh... won't... I won't let them get me!"

The Elsens then scattered, running into different directions while screaming. The fog then began to break off and separate into different parts; large specters with multiple faces forms, yet some of the faces were clamorous to break off into different bodies. However, one thing they shared other than a body was the desire to spook the shit out of the civilians. The phantoms started to float off, in pursuit of the Elsens. The self-proclaimed guardian let out an angry cry and launched himself at one of the specters, cutting it up with his claws.

The Batter and his companions looked at the hysteria surrounding him. Omega was as panicky as the Elsens. "Th-the sp-specters are everywhere! W-we need to r-r-restore order, or they'll continue to r-run amuck!"

"That's not the only thing to be concerned about." the Batter looked at the intense fear that the Elsens displayed on their faces and the light smoke spilling through their mouths.. "As I said, all Elsens will become Burnt sooner or later - this is only speeding up the process. If we don't deal with the specters quick enough, they won't be the only enemies to deal with."

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE.**_

* * *

**_Author's Note:_**   _Originally, this chapter would have had both the amusement park area and the residential area, but due to chapters constantly getting longer and longer, I only wrote the beginning of the residential area part of the game. However, the next chapter will finish up Zone 2; hopefully I finish it before I go to school._

_..._

_Please don't let me go back to school._

_I don't want to be burnt._


	8. The Purification of Japhet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day I hope to take over OFF's fanfiction community. All will bow.

_**Author's Note:**  For NaNoWriMo, I promise to update all my shit more frequently than I currently am, because damn I expected to be done with Zone 2 by the summer but oh geez we just started November._

_By the way, if you're a non-OFF fan and just happen to be one of my regular followers, I urge you to check out OFF. It's a game for cute children, come on._

_Now, let me turn this switch on… here we go…_

* * *

_The story is now on **ON**._

* * *

_**Chapter 7** : The Purification of Japhet_

* * *

The upper floors of the great library is infested with spirits.

The shopping gallery has burned to the ground.

The amusement park is kinda okay but people are still losing their shit regardless.

And now, the residential area is under siege. Is there nothing sacred anymore in this Zone?

The specters with living tumors floated about the place, chasing after the fearful Elsen citizenry. In the midst of it all, Valerie had disappeared - though, a battle cry that sounds like a combination of a screech and a caw was heard in the midst of Elsen screams and rasps.

"Let's kick their asses! Or purify them! Whatever!" said Alpha.

The Batter nodded, yet he was still thinking about something - the specters that were threatening to split from their host. Using a Wide Angle, he examined a wandering specter with an analytical eye. "That is a Porter Specter and… we need to defeat it quickly."

"Why?"

A deep-voiced laugh made them turn around, and the heroes were looking at the grin of a Porter Specter. The ghost gurgled a bit as the tiny ghosts within it tried to force their way out aggressively. With a sickening squelch, a tiny specter popped out, leaving behind a bleeding wound. The host let out a death rattle as its components separated from him, leaving more and more blood behind until the original Porter Specter was nothing but a puddle of scarlet liquid on the ground, circled by tiny laughing ectoplasms.

"...That would happen." said the Batter.

The legion of tiny specters regarded them with childlike curiosity before flying off toward them. The Batter took out a few of them with one swing of the bat, while the Add-Ons rammed into the remaining ones. With those specters purified, they took a second to observe their surroundings. While they had things handled, everyone else clearly wasn't handling things as well as they did; the Elsens are still running around, Porter Specters and tiny specters hounding them while making spooky noises - o _oo_ oh! Some of them hid indoors; a few of them managed to barricade themselves into bunkers, one Elsen desperately pounding on one of the metal doors, smoke escaping from his mouth as he screamed for the other to open the door.

One Porter Specter was looming over an Elsen that tripped in his escape. A face on its back spotted the Batter and the Add-Ons rushing over, but the rest of the body failed to react in time before they struck. The assault, quick and coordinated, purified the specter before it could split up.

The Elsen was grateful, but he suddenly starts sweating profusely. "Th-thank you… I… excuse me, I feel… unwell…" he coughed. "It feels like my head will… explode… KA-BLOOOOOSH" and then it did.

"It's already starting." grunted the Batter, launching himself at the new Valzong-Burnt.

* * *

The entrance to the residential district is open, a few Elsens having opened the barricade to run into the depths of the city. The Judge, staying clear from the fleeing citizenry, regarded the whole situation with curiosity.

"Hm. This Zone really has ailed of malignancy in the past few hours." he reflected. The cat casually strolled into the residential district, still full of screaming Elsens and specters. Wishing to help, he leaped toward the nearest specter, claws outstretched; with several scratches, the Porter Specter is ripped into shreds.

"Hey, you!" shouted a voice. Alpha flown in, greeting the feline. "Do that awesome thing you did and help us clear out these shits, will you?"

"You didn't necessarily have to phrase it like that. I'm perfectly willing to assist."

The cat trotted over to yet another specter and then proceeded to destroy it in a single move.

Meanwhile, the Batter and Omega were pushing their way through Elsens and clobbering specters. However, while they did so, they were on the look-out for a certain someone…

"Ectoplasmic vandals! Go back to whence you came!" shouted a voice from within one of the houses.

Omega turned away from the pursuit of battle. "I-Is that…?"

The Batter purified a few more tiny spirits before investigating. The two went to the house where they heard the yelling, Inside, the cat, Valerie was in the process of finishing off a Porter Specter. The cat removed the scowl on his face to smile with satisfaction before regaining the scowl upon seeing the two purifiers.

"You! You vile criminal!" he growled. "I shouldn't have fled, I should have finished my execution while I had the chance!"

"C-calm down, er, Valerie. W-we only… wish to help." Omega said cautiously.

"Help? You think that regicide will help? You two are absolutely deplorable; for that, you both must face the sting of retribution! Listen to this song, listen to the Head Voices!"

Before the two could react, Japhet let loose with a burst of hot wind that cut into the two. Unlike the first time the Batter faced this move, he now heard melodious music being carried by the wind, invading his ears. The invading tune gave him a massive headache; the headache was strong enough that could arguably be considered worse than the actual physical injuries.

The Batter was stunned. Omega was okay due to not being able to contract headaches, but the winds still cut him up pretty badly. "What… what are you do-doing!" said Omega. "We-we're trying to help y-you… on… behalf of y-your brother st-stop it stop…!"

Valerie's battle stance relaxed, a look of confusion on his face. "Brother?"

"Brother, it's you!" another feline voice said. The Judge chose that time to stroll in, along with Alpha. "Valerie, are you of fine health? Are you suffering any injuries? Did the Batter accidentally manhandle you?"

"I'm fine, thanks." the Batter grunted, rubbing his aching forehead.

Valerie did not answer. Instead, he stared at the Judge blankly for a bit until his eyes widened, understanding hitting him. "You… you're…"

"Yes, it's me - Pablo, your dear sibling!" the Judge said.

There was a short silence shared by everyone.

"...Pablo?" said Alpha, trying to conceal his amusement. "Your name is fucking Pablo?"

"D-don't mock people's names…" said Omega, though he did find it surprising that a guy nicknamed with something cool like "The Judge" carries the birth name of Pablo.

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Shut up." said the Batter.

Valerie looked at Pablo with a sad look. "I… I can't do this…"

"Do what?" his brother questioned.

The other cat did not respond. Instead, he opened his mouth again and yet another gust of wind this time, though it wasn't the ghastly Head Voices this time. The heroes were all knocked back, allowing Valerie to pass them and escape. They quickly recovered and tried to pursue; however, it seems that the troubled cat had disappeared.

"...Valerie?" a heart-broken Judge said.

"...Hm. Well, back to business." said the Batter plainly.

"You don't have to worry about those stupid specters anymore." said Alpha.

"Really?"

"The Judge and I took care of them. Dipshits didn't see it coming."

"Hm." the Batter wonders about the Judge's combat effectiveness - it's good that he's an ally.

Just in case though, the Batter walked around the place to look for any remaining specters; as it turned out, though, Alpha and the Judge truly had taken care of them, the self-proclaiming guardian having apparently purified the last one. Gradually, the Elsens started to calm down (or at least, they stopped running and screaming); nobody seemed to be on the verge of becoming a Burnt, anymore. No structural damage was done to the area, though there were blood puddles strewn about, either produced by broken down Porter Specters and slain Burnts; the Elsens quickly got to cleaning the mess up, in fear of somebody slipping on the stuff and hurting themselves (and that's terrible). A small cluster of Elsens had gathered in the center of town, and had called the heroes over.

"Th-thank you all for your work." rasped one of the Elsens.

"The residential is safe again…" said another.

"But, um…" one Elsen's eyes diverted to the bloodied bat in the Batter's hand, and the other eyes quickly followed. "Is that… a baseball bat…?"

"...Yes?" the Batter answered, not sure where this was going.

"That's an awfully dangerous piece of equipment… we cannot allow such… dangerous things in here. For that, we must, um, evict you all. You must understand."

"...Wait, we just saved all of your asses, and you're repaying us by kicking us out?" said Alpha.

"...Well, if you put it like that… it doesn't matter that you're union, safety is the most essential thing for us."

"...Batter, can you bash the guy in the head?"

He actually considered it for a brief moment before shaking his head. "No. Besides, our business is done here."

"See? Your friend understands."

"Oh, um, by the way…" another pale man stammered. "...we need to confiscate your necktie. It might, um, be tainted with violence."

"..." the Batter silently tore his tie off his neck and handed it to the Elsen. He, the Add-Ons, and the Judge walked through the exit, the barricades immediately coming back up as soon as they cleared the threshold.

"...Dicks." said Alpha.

"Even I must admit that they w-were… well, extremely ungrateful." said Omega.

The Judge walked alongside them, looking at the ground as he walked, downtrodden. "Regardless of their ungratefulness, we need to relocate my brother. He truly must have lost the tools in his metaphorical shed, if he's forgotten me."

"W-wait…" said Omega, and all eyes turn to him. "The way I see things… your brother's visited places t-that the specters are inhabiting; he was e-everywhere except for, um, the amusement park. Which means that…"

"...He's at the library." finished the Batter.

"I knew it, we're going to go confront him at the top of the library, aren't we? I fucking called it." said Alpha.

"As cliche'd as that is, it's very probable." agreed Pablo.

They all went back to the library, coming back full circle. The library is still quiet, the librarian Elsen still there.

"Oh, it's you again." said the librarian. "I've actually seen a cat this time… definitely not a hallucination. It's gone upstairs; I, um, hope that it doesn't get its fur on the books."

A confirmation. They ran up to the floor where the Batter and Alpha had first confronted "Japhet" (while the Batter swung at every Upside-Down Specter he came across), and, sure enough, the barrier that used to bar the way upstairs is gone.

"Ah yes, it's, um, been awhile since I've been in this part of the library." reminisced Omega as they began their ascent.

"What do you remember of it?" asked the Batter, hoping that he has interesting information.

"There's this, um, block puzzle that keeps the way to the roof locked. The combination is based on… a series of books strewn about the place, and the order c-can be divined from finding the correct order of the story.

"The story focuses on the guardian, the millennial fire bird. He built this city… the library… all to house and entertain the p-populace. However, the people st-started to grow ever so paranoid and eventually… they forgot their creator."

"My, what an unfortunate tale." said the Judge.

"It is, my friend Pablo."

Alpha chuckled.

"H-hey, Pablo isn't that funny of a n-name…. back on t-topic, you shouldn't w-worry about having to read the books; I've already read them before, so I've got the combination memorized."

Hahaha, yes, behold my cheapass way of avoiding this section.

They advanced out into one of the tower's balconies. The Batter froze upon stepping out, having not realized that he'd be going outside while ascending the library. He looked down at the ground, the pinkness, the block buildings; he then imagined a blood splatter on the floor with an ended quest.

"Hey, what's the holdup, Batter?" Alpha shouted. The Batter, realizing that everybody else was at the other end of the balcony, strode over to them with careful steps. "Aren't you usually at the front, trying to fight specters like a jackass?"

"Yes. Well, I-I'm not the last thing you - forget it, let's just continue on. Th-There's nothing to be scared of on these balconies, anyway."

"...I can hear the stammering in your syntax, comrade." said the Judge.

"We're looking for your brother, are we not?"

"Ah yes, that's more important."

They went indoors (putting the Batter at ease), haunted by a few Upside-Down Specters, groups of tiny specters, and Valzong-Burnts - presumably Elsens that ventured too far up in the library and went mad. While bats swung, Add-Ons rammed, and cats scratched, Omega continued to recount the story found within the books that were among the few non-plastic bookcases on the floor. "Curiously, the books accuse J-Japhet of bringing the specters into the Zone… r-ridiculous slander. Nobody controls the specters."

"Yet there are those who enable them." the Batter said, mysteriously.

"What… do you mean by that?"

"..." the Batter continued with silently beating a Valzong-Burnt to death.

"You… you never give answers, do you?"

The adventuring party proceeded up to the next floor, ignoring the readable books due to Omega having a grasp on it and because I wanted to halfass this part.

However, something was in their way…

Another balcony segment. Alpha, Omega, and Pablo continued on their way to the other end, untroubled by the height, while the Batter took sluggish steps after them.

"Seriously, what's your fucking problem, besides being a possible psycho?" said Alpha, looking at the slow Batter with disdain.

"...I won't lie - I'm terrified of heights." the Batter admitted.

The other three stared at him, unsure of what to say to that information. Finally, Omega said, "You didn't need to, um, hide that information. Everybody has a… fear of some sort."

"Yes, fears are what helps define all living things." agreed the Judge. "However, there isn't anything to fear, unless you choose to gamble with your own life and lean over the guarding, but that is obviously an unwise act."

"I know, however… fears can be conquered and immunized against. Gravity's the only thing other than death that's always around." he explained.

"Come on, Batter! It's not like someone will push you off the building - unless you want me to do it for you!" threatened Alpha.

The Batter wasn't sure how to respond to that - aside from going along with them. He took a few steps toward them; the Judge and Omega looks at him encouragingly (Alpha's most likely pissed, but obviously he couldn't tell because he's a fucking circle).

"See? There is absolutely nothing to fea-" said Omega…

...before the giant shadow passes over.

"Wha-what was that…?"

"I don't know. At first glance, it resembles a cloud…" the Judge looks up into the sky, squinting at a large moving shape. "Of course, cumuli nimbus do not move that swiftly… however, it lacks the ghastly aura of typical ectoplasms - though it's naturally terrifying - so it's not a specter…"

"Not a specter? Th-then what could it…" said the Batter.

They were answered with a large groan from the shape as it approaches. The Batter and Omega looked shocked by its appearance, recognizing it as the terrifying, cold-eyed, many teethed creature that they had encountered in the Gomez Galleries.

Now having gotten a closer look at the creature, Omega recognized it from a book he read, of an old subject known as 'marine biology'. "I-It's a Whale!"

"A Whale?" asked Alpha.

"Yes... a member of the long lost cetacea family… I-I… um… I don't know why it's even here o-or how it's even flying…"

The Batter did a quick Wide Angle as it got closer. "It… yes, it's a perfectly ordinary Whale." He honestly wasn't sure whether he should bash the large flying mammal or not.

He started to wish that he had bashed it when the Whale opened up its hideous jaws and dove at him, seeing him as a tasty snack. The Batter dove toward the side as the whale bit into the part of the balcony he used to be standing in, biting into it and taking the piece of structure into its mouth. Though it wasn't what it was aiming for, the Whale was satisfied, flying off into the darkness again as it devoured the balcony.

"...Well that happened." said Alpha.

The Batter looked at the distant Whale with cold anger before turning his eyes back on the balcony. To his shock, there is now a huge gap in the balcony, which would require a good jump to clear.

"Batter, you must channel the role your garb carries, take a dash toward a metaphorical homeplate, and leap! Please ignore the possibility of plummeting and letting gravity take hold of you!" said Pablo. Of course, mentioning the latter part did not help.

"...Alpha, float over here and let me grab onto you." commanded the Batter.

"Wait, what? No. Hell no. Go ask him." said Alpha. He rotated to look at Omega, but the other Add-On didn't seem to be present. "...Oh fine." He went over to the other side of the gap, groaning. The Batter hugged his arms around Alpha's body, trying to establish a nice grip, and Alpha started to float back (at a slower speed); the Batter curled up as they passed over the gap, which made Alpha feel more embarrassed and willed him to go faster.

Upon reaching the other side, the Batter dismounted, giving a grateful nod to Alpha (who is probably glaring at him). "Hm, where's Omega?"

Omega had gone on ahead during all the shenanigans, now in a room with keypad arranged switches, some of them already activated. "...There was nothing else to be done but wait for the man who shall rise forth to destroy him. For deep inside its soul, there was no doubt what he did was Evil… that was, um… this page, I believe.."

He hit one last switch block. With that, the barricades that were blocking off the doorway at the other end of the room receded into the ground. It was just in time, too, for the others had just arrived. "Oh, s-sorry for going on ahead. I've, er, already covered the puzzle, not to worry."

"Ah, so beyond here is where my brother may be located." said the Judge.

"And possibly, the true Japhet." added the Batter.

They went up one more case of staircases, which emerged out onto another balcony. This time, Alpha pushed the Batter along, wanting to just get this over with. On this balcony, there is a red save block present, a ladder leading upward to the roof, and…

"Heh heh, nice to see you again - fulfilled my promise of showing up in two chapters." said Zacharie. He looked over the railing and at the sea of pink and plastic below. "It's such a nice view up here. It's a shame that I can only describe it to you in plain text." He looked over at the Judge. "Ah, Pablo. Nice to see you getting more screentime, if the writing medium wishes to call it that."

"Salutations, Zacharie. Have you witnessed my sibling ascending from here?" the cat asked.

Zacharie paused before nodding. "Only the roof's up ahead, there's nowhere else for your addled brother to run to. Your quest is coming to an end, friend; speaking of quests…" he turned toward the Batter, staring at him with his masked face. "Batter, do you wish to purchase goods from me?"

"Of course." the Batter nervously strode over and went on another shopping binge, burning through his credits.

"Much appreciated, friend." Zacharie said, counting his credits before pocketing them.

With items restocked, the Batter was going to proceed when he remembered that the only way forward was a ladder. A ladder that he could easily fall off of. "..."

"Not this again." groaned Alpha.

"I'd try to encourage you to climb myself, but that would be hypocritical, since I can't do so seeing that I am a feline." said the Judge.

"Hmm… I b-believe I have an idea." said the other Add-On. Omega floated up a few inches above the Batter. "Grab onto me, I'll try to… fly up there."

The Batter nodded and tightly gripped his ring like body. The Judge, needing a ride up to the rooftop out of necessity rather than fear, hopped onto the Batter's shoulder. Omega grunted and soon the smart mouthed Add-On was tugging them upward.

"...Hm. What an odd turn of events." Zacharie mused, watching them ascend.

"I could have been stuck with an Elsen, but noooo I get bonded with these dorks." grumbled Alpha before following after them.

A strange symbol, like some sort of cross, adorned the wall of the great library as they neared the rooftop, a fancy greeting for them. They floated up onto the level of the rooftop.

There was no fire bird up there. Only a single figure - the cat, Valerie. He had his back turned at first, looking down at the city below, when he hears footsteps landing behind him. He twisted and upon seeing the heroes, he gave them a glare. However, that expression turned to that of regret upon laying eyes on the Judge.

The Judge walked up to him slowly. "Valerie, it's me." he said slowly. "I've come to salvage you from your paranoid delusions to bring you back to Zone 0. The cellar I've fashioned in Zone 0 has room for another, a perfect place to forget one's sorrows."

Valerie looked away from him. "...I am not Valerie."

"Brother, come to your senses…"

"I'm not your brother!" the other cat snapped - which is followed by a literal snap. Valerie looked back at the group of heroes - his eyes is now blank, as if he's one of the specters. Another unnerving crack came, as the head lurched, tilting upward. Then, the cat's jaws opened up, and something squirms its way through the mouth.

The head of a bird.

A frustrated bird with beady eyes gazed at those before him. "I am Japhet, guardian of the second Zone."

The Judge lost his smile entirely, a complete look of horror on his face. Alpha and Omega seems unnerved. The Batter seemed indifferent on the outside, though he's satisifed that the real Japhet's been located.

The bird known as Japhet started to wiggle his way out of Valerie's mouth, shooting an apologetic look at the Judge. "I am sorry about your brother. The fool mistook me for a common bird and tried to devour me in my ordinary form. I could have died had I not killed him from within; I needed to feed off of him to keep me alive. You must understand that I need to live, that there are terrible consequences in store for this world if I died unceremoniously.."

The living cat didn't seem to care about his reasoning. Instead, he muttered a shocked, 'Valerie…"

"Whatever." the Batter said bluntly.

"Whatever? Dude, you can't just say 'whatever' to terrible shit like this!" said Alpha, feeling legitimate sympathy toward the mournful Pablo.

"..." Omega was unsure whether this was a lawful act or not.

The Batter ignored them both, feeling his blood rush, as he confronted Japhet. "Guardian of Zone 2, your time has come. I'm going to finish the job the Judge's brother had started and purify you."

"Purify me? How dare you speak of purification, heathen!" screeched Japhet. "You know what will happen when I am purified, correct? Who will care for the citizens of this world? Who shall be their savior from the specters?"

"Me."

"You speak in nothing but delusions! Regardless of your mental state, regardless of your purificatory work, you must be executed for your sins against this world!"

Valerie's lifeless, inhabited body started to shake.

"Valerie…" the Judge quietly said again, watching the body of his dear brother quake.

"I apologize sir… but it was… necessary…" Japhet cawed loudly and a grand light burst from the inside of Valerie's the ground, the Elsens looked upon the light, wondering what it was about, then ran for cover, scared for their lives. On top of the grand library, the combatants (and the Judge) heard the ruffling of feathers and the further cracks of bones.

The light faded, the transformation complete. The body of the cat was now nothing but a mere hat for a towering bird, atop a head looking down at the heroes with vengeful eyes. The bird now stood atop legs, stretching its glorious wings that radiates light.

"Behold, my true form!" bellowed Japhet, "How lucky for you to be able to gaze upon my true form before your execution, Batter!"

The Batter grunted, taking out his bat and holding it out in front of him. "Purification in pro-"

Japhet shrieked, letting loose with a harsh Tenor with a combination of batting wings and soundwaves. The Batter was blown backward by the wind…

...and off the building.

The Batter made a harsh noise as a thud was heard.

"B-Batter!" screamed Omega, going after him, leaving Alpha to deal with the guardian. He floated down, back to the last balcony, where the Batter had landed.

The baseball player was crumpled on the ground, unmoving, his mouth open as if he wanted to scream. The Add-On quickly rifled through the Batter's inventory and pulled out a card - a Joker. He placed it upon his boss' body and it suddenly jerked back to life.

"..." the Batter did not say anything, trembling a little. Then, he trembled in actual, physical pain.

"Ah, you're posioned as well…" said Omega, recognizing the symptoms. He used Overdone Perspective and the Batter's trembling became solely psychological. "There… please remember to patch yourself up, as well."

They heard a chuckle around the corner of the balcony - Zacharie is still where he was, casually chewing on a bit of beef jerky. "Shouldn't you two return to battle?"

"Y-yes, we shou… hold on, w-why didn't you help the Batter?"

"I'm an item shop, not an inn."

"Hm. Omega, will you carry me again?" asked the Batter. Omega bobbed in agreement.

Another laugh from Zacharie. "I hope you'll get used to flying quickly; please note that this battle will be different from its game incarnation." The man and the Add-On looked at him with confusion. "You're no longer limited by engine limitations - look up!"

The Batter looked above, just in time to see a shadow pass over. Though, the shadow was not given off by a Whale this time, but rather, Japhet. The towering bird is flying off the rooftop, being circled by Alpha, who was trying to lay down strikes while avoiding Japhet's wings and soundwave attacks. Alpha shouted obscenities when he got struck by a powerful Soprano, forcing him to flee, with flapping wings pursuing him.

A bead of sweat rolled down the Batter's forehead. This wasn't going to be good, at least, for him.

However, he couldn't expect just Alpha and Omega to fight the guardian by themselves. His purifying bat needs to join the conflict, if they wish to defeat him.

The Batter tried to steel his nerves, stopping himself from trembling. "Omega, I need you to carry me in order to fight Japhet."

"Carry you…? Won't you be…"

"I'll try not to be scared. This mission is important."

With those words, Omega's doubts of the Batter faded, or at least, were pushed aside. Is the Batter truly evil? He certainly wouldn't risk himself for an evil plan - real villains would just send their henchmen ( in this case, the Add-Ons) toward their enemies. Truly, the Batter must be fighting for the side of good, the side of justice, if he's willing to go through this trouble.

A reassured Omega agreed to this. "Grab on, Batter."

The Batter grabbed onto Omega with one hand, holding his bat with the other. Omega started flying up, lifting the Batter off the balcony, the latter trying to stay calm as he did so. With them in the air, Omega then shot up toward the clash in the skies.

Zacharie regards this with an amused chuckle. "This is such a strange story."

* * *

The clouds, thick with smoke, acted as a hindrance to the fight, much to Alpha's dismay; while the Add-On was troubled, Japhet wasn't, being used to fighting in the air. Japhet would now and then disappear behind one of the thick clouds and emerge elsewhere, hitting the Add-On with a gust of wind and/or fire. Alpha would try to counter this, chaining his Chain Competences against the giant avian; despite the cuts the Add-On is giving him, Japhet didn't seem too bothered, though, he was impressed.

"It's unfortunate that you had to be an extension of that criminal scum!" screeched Japhet, "I would much rather have you enforcing the will of the Queen; your will is quite impressive!"

"Gee, thanks. But since you're still trying to kill me, I might as well beat the tar out of you!" Alpha flew right at Japhet, taking him into an Awaited Embrace, infecting him with poison.

The bird coughed, feeling the area that Alpha had struck burn, "Cutting me like a poisoned dagger, eh? It will be you who shall be hoist by their own petard!" Japhet prepares another attack - another Head Voices - with Alpha in clear range. However, before he could unleash it, he saw something in the corner of his eye - right before he felt a bat smacking the side of his head.

The Batter swung, trying not to lose his grip on Omega after the assault, while making sure he didn't drop his bat into the city below. "About time you chumps got here." said Alpha. "Got over the heights thing?"

"No." the Batter answered, gritting his teeth and trying to tighten his grip. "I'll m-manage, though."

"You!" Japhet's head shot up to look at him; the Batter had given bruises to both his head and Valerie's unmoving arm. "Your crusade shall end here!" The guardian created a storm like wind, cutting into the heroes again; the Batter had it the worst, being the only one who couldn't fly, having to hold on for dear life with only one hand while the gale scratches him up.

As soon as the whirlwind had subsided and the Batter regained his grip, Omega goes on the offensive, flying at Japhet. He turned, his edge facing Japhet, and he sliced through Japhet, while the Batter did a quick hit and run attack with his weapon. While they did that, Alpha delivered a quick Chain to his stomach; to further the damage, the bird felt a burning sensation inside of him, the poison still running its course. Japhet, starting to feel weariness and annoyance, smacked them away with his flapping wings.

"Enough of this foolishness! Why must I use my other skills - a case of Head Voices will do their trick in eliminating you pests!" a storm of hot wind carrying powerful, headache inducing noises - he continues to unleash the wind upon them. With the situation worsening and the headaches and wind wearing them down, the Batter started to issue out Saving Base heals while Omega handed out Fortune Tickets. However, they weren't enough, Japhet's ever-present attack wearing down their bodies faster than they could heal them.

"W-we need to distract him from using that… without… ack… getting close enough t-to take the full brunt of his Competence!" said Omega.

Alpha searched the clouds, looking for an answer in the darkness. Then, he thought of something. "Hey, you giant prickass!" the angry party member shouted to seemingly nobody in particular. "That's right, you! Get your ass over here, there's fresh meat!"

"Wha-what are you doing?"

The Batter, catching on, shouted. "I d-dare you to face my bat again, beast!"

"What are you guys talking about?" said Japhet, feeling ignored. "I am in the middle of executing you, you can't simply ignore me… like… the citizens..."

Now Omega was starting to understand, shouting alongside his allies while throwing out heals. "Yes, come hither! Y-you may be stated to eat krill, but there's a bountiful feast to be found here!"

Japhet's head twisted in confusion. However, his Garu/Zan onslaught continued. "Has madness overtaken you three? I'm trying to enforce justice but-"

That's when his attack was finally interrupted - a horrible groan was heard from one of the smoky clouds before a Whale (or perhaps, THE Whale) emerged, headbutting into Japhet, who saw as a bigger meal.

Japhet's painful attack dissipated, distracted by the Whale. "What! Begone, mammal of the old seas! The sky is not your domain!"

The Batter watched Japhet attempt to bat the Whale away with his wings. Then, he gets an idea.

"Omega, drop me on top of the Whale." said the Batter.

"Wh-what?" responded Omega.

"Just do it. I have an idea."

Deciding not to question him while the opportunity is ripe, Omega floated toward the heated conflict between the two giant animals, dropping the Batter on the hydra- I mean, Whale's back; neither combatant noticed his arrival.

Japhet finally decided to stop it with the diplomacy nonsense, categorized the Whale as a specter, and hit it in the face with fire, killing it instantly; despite its terrifying looks, the Whale wasn't very strong. "I apologize!" Japhet said, noting that he should refrain from killing endangered species.

The Whale started to descend, while at the same time, the Batter ascended up its falling body. His bat was positioned behind his head, prepared for a swing as the Batter Ran with Grace.

It was only then did Japhet noticed him. The guardian snapped to attention, intent to kill in mind.

The Batter lept off the Whale, trying not to think about the ground below him.

Diamonds formed at Japhet's mouth, starting up a fire attack that would blast his adversary out of the sky.

Then, the Batter swung - directly at Japhet's head, nailing him with a Special Homerun. Japhet made a shocked squawking noise as a bruise that looked more like a dent was made, releasing a glob of blood. The Batter started falling, the cons of his reckless move finally setting in; he prayed to himself that somebody would catch him. Alpha. the nearest Add-On, decided to do the job - though not before taking a chance to strike the dazed guardian. He flew toward Japhet, who was still reeling in pain, aimed for a wing, and sliced himself through him, causing the bird to let out another harsh noise. As Alpha descended to retrieve the Batter, Omega decided to follow Alpha's example, slicing right through Japhet's other wing.

Japhet spun in the air, sight blurring, blood starting to seep around his body. His wings felt weak, the bones inside heavily damaged, if not outright broken; he felt an intolerable pain inside his head - poetic vengeance for Head Voices, he supposed; if falling due to lack of support and head trauma didn't do him in, the poison coursing through his blood certainly would. He did not choose to pursue his enemies. They already won, he had to acknowledge that. However, if the guardian is to die, he has to die in the place he loves the most.

* * *

Zacharie stood right next to the Judge on top of the tower, comforting his friend. "As questionable as the Batter's methods are… at least Valerie is avenged."

"..." the Judge did not respond.

From up above, Japhet was performing his last swan song, lowering down to the top of the great library. Upon reaching the surface of his glorious tower, he collapsed, the state of his mangled body making itself known. Blood started to pool, the bird resting his head in a pool. His eyes darted toward three figures in the sky, flying like angels. "So I've been slain… you can be proud to have accomplished your mission, Batter…" As he said to the Batter earlier, his arms were as strong as his spirit; he however hoped that his arms would be overcome by his last remaining friend. He closed his eyes, the guardian wishing to sleep in the embrace of his books. He heard tiny paws step up to him.

He was sure that the cat was examining his brother's body one last time.

"Pablo… we need to leave." the bird heard the man named Zacharie say in an alarmed tone.

However, Japhet could tell that the cat didn't want to budge.

Over in the sky, the heroes floated over the mass of pink buildings for one last time. The Batter was smiling, satisfaction overriding his fear. He had unfortunately dropped his bat during the fall; however, he could always acquire new arms. For now, all he was focused on was his success.

"Japhet, guardian of Zone 2, has been defeated." the Batter reflected, embracing the finality of the fact.

He looked back at the library, now a resting place.

"This Zone is now pure."

Then everything faded to white.

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE**._

* * *

_**Author's Note:**  Finally, I'm finished with Zone 2! Oh man, I can't wait to see what I can screw up in the next Zone. _ _Anyway, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the finale to this arc. Please inform me of any errors I made in this chapter; aside from the Whale's diet, of course.  
_

_(Also I am insulted that the Add-Ons don't have their own character tag. How sad.)_


	9. The Unnerving Cafeteria

_Heh heh heh, good evening, friends. We are back with another exciting chapter of this remake; please enjoy with your favorite confections or maybe a nice drink._

_Let's flip the story on **ON** , shall we?_

* * *

_**Chapter 8** : The Unnerving Cafeteria_

* * *

The Nothingness heralded the Batter's return with whispers, the guardian of the second zone purified. Alpha tried not to be disturbed by the voices; Omega however showed clear distress.

"Wha… what are these voices?" he said in a hushed voice, as if scared of offending the unseen. "Are they specters… by any chance?"

"No. There is no threat of specters here." said the Batter. He huffed with relief, thankful that the Nothingness transported him onto the ground, feet first. However, now that the threat of gravity is out of the way, he had a mission to get back to. "Omega, do you know anything about Zone 3?"

"Zone… 3? Hm… I have seen some books talking about it in the library, but.. er, they all seem to be partly censored. Through the pipe of rumors though, I know that there's these huge smokestacks… they seem to be pumping out artificial smoke into the atmosphere as an alternative to the royal smoke mines… though, um, I should mention that it's unconfirmed."

"Anything else? Information on the guardian?"

"...He's sometimes called the "Big Mister"... that's all I know of, though."

"Hm. Let's get to investigating, then."

Yes, Batter, go investigate! Haha, let's go see what excitement this chapter will lead us to!

"...Hey, Narrator guy, is your head on straight?" asked Alpha, more out of curiosity than concern. "You sound weirder than you already are."

Weirdness is an objective outlook, Add-On! Anyway, led over to a spot over in the darkness, the Batter held up the card he recently won off of Japhet and all three of them get spirited away toward the next zone.

They land on a metallic platform, just like the previous zones. This may just be a story, but I'll try my best to describe the settings (or you can play the game yourself!): the Zone's exterior is made of a dark hue of orange, the buildings sharply contrasting against the sky, standing against it, their smokestacks reaching higher than that, releasing breathable air into the open air. On one of the buildings, a giant greeting bore the legend:

**ZONE 3**

The Batter coughed, feeling the difference in the air. It feels somewhat sweeter, though nauseating. Lovely, isn't it?

"Seriously, are you on something?" questioned Alpha.

Oh, I'm fine. Fine. But please, progress must be made.

"Yes, it should." said the Batter, though he was also a little wary. Then they proceed, directing to the building ahead of them.

Unlike the other Zones, the innards of the building are splotched with dark green, a shift from the relaxing though drab blue. There was nobody behind the desk in the center. A peculiar poster with stamp marks was pasted on the wall.

The Batter ripped it off the wall. "'Attention employees, be sure to follow this exact path when heading in and out of the cafeteria. Though they are friendly, the specters don't like having their boundaries invaded. I hope for your cooperation, and let us meet our quotas!'" signed, the Director." The man raised his eyebrow at the contents of the poster, eyes lingering on the stamp marks and numbers below.

"Friendly specters...? Set boundaries...?" Omega paused. "How.. odd. I've never really heard of any sort of, er, c-cooperation with the specters."

The Batter was quiet. He didn't believe that the ectoplasms could be compliant.

"No one's here, so I guess we're taking it." Alpha snatched the poster, looked at it, and seemed to cringe. "...Omega, you're a puzzle guy, right?"

"By puzzle guy, if you mean a decrypter of puzzles in this world, then... sure." the other Add-On rasped.

The first Add-On shoved the poster over to him. "Here. Make stuff happen."

"...Right then."

There were only two passageways in the room: stairs that led to an underground area and a path outside that connected to another building. First, our heroes go outside to enjoy the serene scenery of molten plastic (at least, I find it serene).

There was an Elsen sitting at the plastic's edge, an abnormal demeanor written on his face: he actually seemed blissful. He swung his legs, staring off into the distance, just enjoying himself with a smile. The pale man looked at the three newcomers. "The plastic is nice today, isn't it?"

"I suppose so." answered the Batter. His stoicism hid his suspicion. The purifier looked over the Elsen, trying to figure out whether there was any ectoplasmic influence.

The Batter was stumped to find that there was anything wrong.

"...Let's go." the Batter said, entering the next building - though, he couldn't shake the Elsen's behavior from his mind.

They continue into the cafeteria, which smells of delicious aromas. The cafeteria was a large room with long tables atop a plus-sign peppered floor; despite the abundance of tables, there were only a few Elsens, some of them walking around in a stilted fashion, staring into nothing, yet oddly serene; the Elsens seated at the tables were eating something - a dish that did not smell of meat - savoring it as if it was a king's feast.

"We should, um, ask them questions…" suggested Omega, too busy looking at the strange puzzle map. "These Elsens seem a bit… different than the ones in my Zone, so some investigation is necessary…"

Quite right, Add-On! The Batter seemed to agree too. "...Yes, good point." said the Batter. He wondered whether this strange behavior was linked with the Zone's guardian.

Alpha urged ahead, floating toward the nearest Elsen. "Hey, you!"

As the Batter followed after him, Omega started shifting his view from the paper and the floor. Then, the connection sparked. "G-guys, wait!"

Unfortunately, his call came too late. As if the first two purifiers crossed the threshold into a different room, two specters appeared out of thin air (from their point of view). Both parties looked at each other in bafflement; the Batter took the moment of hesitation to throw a quick Wide Angle at the specters.

"Those are Mute Specters." the Batter stated, observing the aforementioned ghosts trying to cackle through the tape on their mouths, "They shouldn't be any trouble…" He reached for his bat…

...then he remembered that he dropped it during the fight with Japhet. He is definitely never going to see that bat again.

The Batter cursed himself for spelling his spare baseball bats to Zacharie; what is a batter without his bat? "...It shouldn't be hard for you, anyway."

Alpha would be shaking his head right now if he had one. Instead, he gritted his teeth (oh wait, he doesn't have those either, silly me!) and lunged at one of the specters with a Chain attack, defeating one instantly.

"Taste j-justice!" screeched Omega, flying in on the scene, Blurring into the other specter. The Mute Specter, panicked, tried to fly at the open Batter (who was just watching the purification in progress), but was intercepted by Alpha, getting killed by the Add-On's strike.

Their brief victory was tainted when a light appeared in their visual senses and they were suddenly back at the entrance to the cafeteria. The Elsen briefly broke his gaze from the plastic ocean to stare at them, shrugged as if he's seen this happen many times before, and continued on with his activities.

Omega sighed and starts to educate our dear friends on how not to pull impulsive maneuvers. "I was a-about to explain that we shouldn't run blindly into this place." He pulled out the paper. "These marks all correspond to the floor pattern in the cafeteria... though no exact path is, um, marked, they're implied by the numbers..."

Right you are! OFF newcomers, please take notes!

The Batter frowned at the Narrator's intrusion. "Then lead the way, Omega."

"Okay." They re-enter the cafeteria. There was no visible sign that a fight had happened, and not even the Elsens have any reaction. "L-let's take the nearest path and see where it takes us."

Omega started moving ahead, peering down at the map as he moved. The route was taken in careful steps, leading to a door on the east side of the room. On their path, they run into an Elsen with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"Are you aware that the patterns made by the leftovers of your plate mean something?"

They continue on, ignoring his silly idea. To me, it sounds like something you'd see at a divination class, heh heh. Now, they continue on and on to the back side of the room. What will be there? What unproductive fun times are there to be had?

Then, they pass through the doorway, and - surprise!

It's me!

"Zacharie?" called the Batter. He stared at I in the middle of the storage room, among the boxes.

However, I am not Zacharie, reckless companions! Do you not recognize me?

"What are you talking abo-" Alpha was interrupted when he looked up; the masked salesman no longer wore a froggish mask, but was now hiding behind the face of a cat.

It is I, your dear friend, the Judge! I may have changed, anatomically speaking, but I am just as capable as acting as your guide!

"We know that's you, Zacharie." sighed the Batter.

...Ah. I can't fool your judging eyes, and the meta viewpoint of the Readers certainly see through me as well. Hold on, allow me to change to standard third-person... "That's better." said Zacharie.

"W-wait, are you impersonating the Judge and that, er, talking voice?" asked Omega.

"Indeed. Pablo has been feeling under the weather as of recently, so I've chosen to represent him; the Narrator himself has also been upset by recent events, in-story and real life, so he's in no mood for our antics." explained Zacharie/Pablo/Hyper.

"Oh. Well, got anything to say?" asked the first Add-On.

"Hm... the dormitories on the other end of the room is infested by odd spirits. I assume that some of the specters have escaped from their zones, so to speak."

"We'll check it out, then." said the Batter. He starts to turn but then he remembered something. "Do you have any bats for purchase?"

Zacharie shook his cat face. "No, no. I am just a guide for now! Wait until, oh, say, perhaps the next chapter?"

The Batter didn't really know what that meant, but what he did know was that it'd be a while before he took up his namesake. With inner frustration, he stepped outside and started walking toward the west end of the room...

...when he stepped in front of a specter with a gaping maw and crossed out eyes, resembling an evolved version of the Half-Blind Specter from Zone 1. Whoops, careful, friends!

The two Add-Ons arrived. "Really?" said an exasperated Alpha, who believed that since they were at the back of the room, they could have just walked to the other side.

"Yes. There seems to be... separate paths to the two dormitories." said Omega, giving the map a quick glance over just to make sure.

Although he did not have a bat, the Batter knew that his Wide Angle still worked. "That is a Blind Specter. Its attacks are better than Mute Specters, but it isn't anything special."

The Blind Specter groaned and the Add-Ons flew into battle, which did not take long. Upon the specter's defeat, the protagonistic trio is back at the entrance.

Omega led the way again, this time, taking a different route. It was relatively uneventful (understandable, since they're kinda walking around a cafeteria), though they were alarmed when they heard something from an Elsen.

"The specters are not evil... they are our friends..." said the Elsen; they felt that the Elsen had witnessed the fight they had with the Blind Specter.

The Batter indulged himself with a scoff. The notion that the specters could be friendly was ridiculous to him - the whole Zone was just suspicious to him. Well, I think he could stand to be more open-minded.

They arrive at two rooms: the dormitories. Due to the path they took, they were stuck with going into the door on the right, even though the other door is literally a few feet away. Choosing to deal with it, they entered the dorms on the right.

The dormitories consist of a hallway with connected rooms, rows of beds against the walls. Only a few Elsens were present, though, their sleeping periods were not ready yet.

"There's something at the end of the hallway..." noted the Batter, spotting a light of some sorts.

As they advanced toward the light, they heard chatter from the Elsens...

"I think Zone 3 is the best place in the world."

"I love the cafeteria food. Yes, I love it a lot, yes."

"We must thank those visitors for bringing us more."

"I heard that one of our co-workers disappeared. More dessert for us, I supp..."

At that point, the three crusaders were tuning everything out.

For they were, at the moment, too focused on the Add-On in front of them.

The new Add-On glowed as bright as the others, bobbing in the air cheerfully, though alone. With a light, female voice, the Add-On asked, "Who are you three?"

"I am the Batter." he greeted; if he could have two Add-Ons, was it possible to have three? He might as well see if he could.

"The Batter?" the Add-On seemed perplexed. "You're a baseball player?"

"...no."

"Then why are you wearing those clothes?"

"I've kinda been wondering the same thing." said Alpha.

"..." the Batter had no answer.

The Add-On laughed. "Oh, it's none of my business!" she floated a bit over to Alpha and Omega. "I see you got Add-On buddies! Who are you guys?"

"I'm Alpha. I came from Zone 1 and I've been with this asshole the longest."

"I'm... Omega. I used to defend Zone 2's library in the guardian's absence, but... well, I had to turn my arms against him. Rest assured, it's part of a long-term victory plan for this world."

'Nice to meet you. I am Epsilon, the holy spirit of this Zone!" she looked around and then took a sigh. "Though, nobody seems to pay attention to me. I feel like someone that's left behind and forgotten..."

The Batter saw the opportunity and chose to take it. "Then would you join us?"

Epsilon regarded the Batter with curiosity. "Would it work, though?"

The Batter tried answering by extending his arm toward her.

Upon touching the spherical form, the third Add-on let off a bright light, connecting to the Batter. With Epsilon officially bounded to him, the Batter had a full repetoire of Add-Ons (remember, four heroes is the RPG Maker limit). Now, the savior had a holy trinity to back him up.

**Epsilon has joined the party!**

**(He still didn't have a bat, though.)**

Epsilon bobbed excitedly. "Yes! Glad to be working with you guys - I hope we can all be the best of friends!"

The other three look confused; understandable, because I am not sure if the original Narrator even grouped them as friends.

"Nice to have you as our… colleague." said Omega. "If you don't mind me asking… what skills do you have in your repertoire? It'd be, um, nice to know."

"Oh! I can buff people!" exclaimed Epsilon.

"...Buff?"

It is a game term that categorizes skills: "buffs" makes you stronger, more defensive, more faster, or so on. Was that clear enough, amigo?

"...I-I suppose so."

"Also, I can make people cry!" Epsilon added.

"Cry?" said a skeptical Alpha, who had no idea what it meant.

"Oh yeah, I'm good at making people cry." she said, not really answering him.

"I… guess that can be useful." said the Batter, though not seeing the purpose himself.

"So, uh, any specters here?" asked Alpha, wishing to get back to the objective they were originally going for.

"Nope. Just these guys." answered Epsilon.

Heh heh, looks like you guys have to try the other door.

"...masked douchebag." grumbled Alpha.

They exited the dormitories. Despite the other door being just a few feet away, they still had to take a different path for it, much to the ire of the Batter and Alpha. Omega led the way again; as he did so, Epsilon was absent-mindedly whistling show tunes that perked up the walk a bit.

Though the Elsens have been steadily leaving to go to who knows where, they still managed to encounter one on their path: "Be guided with jubilance, and you can avoid the specters." The pale man happily walked away, back toward the entrance, drawing the path from memory.

"Were these weirdos always like this?" Alpha asked Epsilon. "I mean, I guess it's cool for them to be happy, but it's weirding the shit out of me."

"Hm… Kinda." answered Epsilon. "They have been always like this, but it's actually gotten worse. Or better!"

"How?" asked the Batter, wondering if it's connected to the guardian, yet again.

"They've been making more dessert~!"

"Dessert?" said Omega quizzically. "...what… what is dessert?"

"It goes with dinner - more yummier than the meat, definitely!"

The other three purifiers wondered if this 'dessert' induces happiness in people. Oh ho, do not fret, you shall find answers soon. So, deciding to solve this mystery later, they advanced to the other dormitory.

It didn't look too different from the room next door, aside from everything being positioned to the left rather than the right. There was no strange light to be found at the end of the hallway, but regardless, they continued onward, looking to the rooms at the left as they walked. Just the same scenes: mostly empty beds with a few Elsens chattering.

"I… I am not hiding anything over here…"

"Are you sure…?"

"Yes, yes. Don't mind me, I'll keep standing in this spot to prevent you from seeing something that's not here."

"The Director told us to dream sweet dreams at night. How thoughtful."

"Yes. He also assured us that there are no specters under our beds. We all don't have to share beds with them… how marvelous."

"Who are you all?"

The Batter stopped walking, making the following Add-Ons halt; the voice wasn't referring to them.

"You're not specters, right?"

"It's coming from the e-end of the hallway!" alerted Omega. The Batter grit his teeth and hurried ahead, despite not having a weapon.

"You're not bad ghosts, right…? O-of course not. You're our friends."

The protagonists arrive at the room at the end, witnessing a dramatic scene: an Elsen was standing before a trio - no, a quadruple - of specters. Two Mutes, one Blind wearing a ghostly crown, advanced on the Elsen, who looked upon them innocently, though a bit surprised.

Suddenly, the Blind Specter screeched and let loose with a Forejudgement. The illuminated attack sent the Elsen staggering backwards and onto the floor. A hole was blasted into his chest, blood oozing out of the wound.

"This… this isn't a serious injury, I-I'm sure…" he stammered, still oblivious to their malignancy.

The crown glowed, empowering and encouraging the Mute Specters. The Mute Specters looked at each other and nodded. They floated over to the Elsen, who extended an arm to them, believing that they would help him up.

He did not expect his hand to be severed, nor a gash appearing in his head. The Elsen slumped over…

The Batter had seen enough. "Corrupt souls…" his 'greeting' made heads turn. "... face our divine wrath!"

Alpha attacked first with a Chain, Omega flew with a Blur; the latter got lucky with his assault, purifying one Mute Specter while the former made a large dent into the defenses of the other. The Batter could only stand and watch as the battle went on -

And then Epsilon flew in, ready to display her combat prowess. Rather than directly confronting the specters, she stood a few feet away. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to tell you a story: a Surrealist Tragedy."

Both her team mates and the enemy team were surprised by what she said. What was more surprising was when Epsilon started letting out a hum, generating a certain noise frequency like a tone - that's what started hurting the specters. The specters, hearing the full brunt of her tragedy screeched as she continued her hum. Then, to top off our cake of headcanon surprises, the specters started crying:

Crying with blood. Their own blood dripped down from their faces, and they cringed in pain as they did so; it was most evident when the Mute Specter that Alpha had damaged suddenly dropped and disappeared, leaving behind only a small puddle of red fluid.

"Holy shit." said Alpha, in awe. He really needs to stop underestimating his own allies, don't you think?

The crown, alarmed, glowed, revitalizing the specter who it was atop. The Batter, not wanting to be a complete lay about, used Wide Angle. "The crown is a Crown of the Dead. It uses Aspirating Suzerain to heal its fellows."

"Th-then we must aim for it first! Classical strategy calls for the defeat of healers!" Omega stated. Aiming himself at the floating crown, he lunged, striking it. The crown let out a howl as it was broken in half, the flame surrounding it dissipating. The Blind Specter was angered, though he did not have time to act on it when both Alpha and Epsilon struck it with their normal attacks, defeating it.

The specters were gone, but there was still something worth investigating.

The Batter crouched next to the Elsen, hoping that it was still alive to be interviewed. However, our friend, in a Captain Obvious text box, said, "He's dead."

"No shit." said Alpha. Despite his demeanor, he was in shock; the only Elsens he's seen killed were Burnts.

This was a perfectly ordinary Elsen who was murdered in cold blood.

Omega seemed just as disturbed. Epsilon, however, seemed unperturbed. In fact, she was more concerned about something else: "Hey guys, I did good, right?"

"Huh? Oh yes, that was admittedly impressive." said the Batter. He was too busy thinking about something, though; why was the Elsen so oblivious to the threat of the specters?

For that matter, why were the Elsens in general completely chill? Why did they see the specters as friendly?

"Nobody is scared of the specters here." the Batter realized.

"They even see them as... friends." agreed Omega.

Yes, that is strange. Normally, the Elsens are scared of the ectoplasms. To be honest, I don't know much about what happens here; my customers here are few in number, so I don't know much of their customs.

"...wait, we're supposed to be scared of specters?" asked Epsilon, legitimately unaware.

...it also seems that this rewrite has dictated that things have been this way for as long as this Add-On has existed, at the very least. Heh, the mysteries are just piling up, right?

"Zacharie, you're supposed to be a guide, right?" asked Alpha.

Why yes, as both the Judge and the Narrator.

"Then shouldn't you know this shit?"

Ha ha... true. In fact, I know all. However, I'm contractually obligated not to tell spoilers. However, as a guide, I must point you in the right direction: take the underground tram to the second area of this Zone - they call that place the 'Treatment Rooms'. I'll try to meet you guys there - in fact, let's have a race. First one there gets a prize, heh heh. See if you can outrun me, Batter - I am quite fast on my feet when I wish to be.

"Okay." said the Batter, not really caring about my challenge.

They were about to leave, but Alpha, who was still fixated on the dead Elsen, said, "Er, aren't we forgetting something? Like a fucking dead body?"

"...it's not our problem."

"I… I don't agree with the Batter…" Omega shot a glare at him. "...however, if we tell anyone about it… e-everyone will panic, even if they believe in the specters' benevolence…"

Alpha had to admit that it was a good point. He didn't want to face down a whole room full of Burnts.

"We should leave him be." whispered Epsilon. "Let him have his eternal rest…"

Ultimately, they go along with Epsilon's idea, leaving the Elsen's body all alone. They walked through the hall and navigated through the cafeteria; nobody showed any indication that they even heard the assault - how sad. On the way, Epsilon chose to acquaint herself with her fellow Add-Ons.

"So, um, what are we doing? With the Batter?" she asked.

"Some really stupid and crazy stuff." Alpha answered.

"Yes… though, I have c-confidence in his sense of justice. It'll all work out…" said Omega.

"Hm. I hope I can be of help for this crazy stuff." said Epsilon. "Helping people out makes me feel good… and less lonely…"

"W-what?"

"Nothing!"

They head on back to the first building. The receptionist was still gone, giving the room an empty feeling. This time, the protagonists (with a new party member) go down the stairs. They arrive at an underground station, with a vehicle sitting on tracks and an Elsen standing behind a counter to greet people.

The pale man had that far-off look that his fellows have, but he still greeted our protagonists - how nice of him. "Hello. Do not fret about paying - the tram is free. You can use it to travel all over Vesper, or if you prefer, Zone 3. Sensational, isn't it?"

"Zone 1 had the same thing." grumbled Alpha.

"...Please take a seat."

They all entered the tram, a box lit up with limited lighting. The Batter took a seat on one of the chairs and looked at four buttons near the door that represented the four areas of the Zone. Taking my advice, his monochrome finger prodded the second button.

The tram doors close creakily. The protagonists all relax as the box started to move. Thus, the tram moved down a dark tunnel, chugging along to an uncertain future in the distance.

* * *

_Let's flip the story on **PAUSE**._

* * *

_Hm. What to say? Ah hold on, let me look for the Author's Notes real quick; until then, let us share in some words. Did you know that if you miss Epsilon at this part of the game, the Add-On reappears near the boss' area? How well thought out. It'd be a travesty to miss out on a party member. Hmm.. no, that's APUSH homework... Have any of you frequented the works of John Clowder? His art work is of the utmost quality, and his games Middens and Gingiva are a joy to play; the combat is on the weak side, but the atmosphere and visuals are to die fo- oh, here, I found the notes._

_**Author's Notes:**  Let's see here, ah yes, Hyper would like to know whether you've enjoyed this chapter, and once again apologizes for the wait. My, he should stop multi-tasking on four stories, then, but who am I to judge? ...Well, I am THE Judge, after all and... I am not amusing, am I? Well anyway, here are some questions he's scribbled down: where will the tram lead our protagonists? What shall be found in the Treatment Rooms of Zone 2? What is the cause of happiness? What is the meaning of happiness? Is yesterday better? Find out in the next exciting chapter! I'm sure the Narrator will be there to see you, as will I! Please show your appreciation or your middle fingers, if you please!_


	10. The Unhappy Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The nicest game for children.

_Heh heh heh, it's been a while, readers. Hm? Oh no, the author is still preoccupied. It is I, your friendly neighborhood cat, The Judge! ...Of course, I am actually the merchant Zacharie - my clever disguise can't elude your prying eyes._

_So, shall we get started?_

_The story is now on **ON**._

* * *

_**Chapter 9:**  The Unhappy Secret_

* * *

click-clack-clack

click-clack-clack

click-clack-clack

whirrrrr

clack

The monorail stopped.

The Batter exited the car, followed by his two - no, a trio now - Add-Ons, into the second area of Vesper. The humanoid purifier twitched his hand; it'd been a while since he last held a bat, and he desperately needed a weapon.

He marched his way upstairs. Despite how frustrated the Batter seemed to be, an Elsen manning the desk notes that: "Your footsteps make so little noise.. It's abnormal…"

Which is true. The Batter tends to be rather quiet when he isn't rambling.

"No need to be so quiet, Batter." said Epsilon, bobbing above his head. "You'd be way more cheerful if you make a little noise!"

"That'll get in the way of my mission." huffed the Batter, walking away faster.

"Forget it. That guy's too much of a miserable fuck to be happy." Alpha said to her.

They head upstairs to the ground level. Area 2 of Zone 3 connects to a large facility up ahead, where the sounds of mass activity and industry can be heard, with two smaller buildings floating out on the plastic, connected together via pipes transporting some sort of substance. In front of them, waiting, is…

"Ah ah ah, too bad, Batter and friends. It seems that I've reached here first.." I sa- I mean, said Zacharie. He gives them a concerned look under his Judge mask, trying to ignore the fact that Alpha was shaking with rage. "Oh, fret not. This was written in advance, so my victory was pretty much assured. But here, a consolation to soothe the wound of failure."

Instead of the Golden Flesh that was handed in the original game, Zacharie walked up to the Batter and pulled out something from behind his back: a new baseball bat.

The Batter nodded, takes the prize, and slung it over his shoulder. All is right in the world.

"So, now that you're in the treatment facilities, you can begin your search. If you find anything suspicious, please let me know." With that, the fake cat turned and retreated into one of the small buildings behind him.

Knowing that Zacharie had gone into that one, they enter the other small building.

They enter what looked to be a small storage facility. But in reality, it turned out to be Zacharie's stores, as he entered the building from a tunnel, now wearing his regular mask. Go consumerism.

"Funny thing, I just met the Judge back there." chuckled Zacharie.

"..." No one in the party was really interested in responding. Even Epsilon didn't want to play along with these shenanigans.

"...Anyway, show me your credits." the shopkeeper sighed.

After burning a hole through their hard-earned credits, the party leave, Alpha and Omega up to date, Epsilon now outfitted with her own equipment. Knowing that Zacharie would probably walk into the other building if they entered (probably with that silly cat mask), they decide to proceed to the main building.

There is no security in their way as they enter. The facility is a mesh of boxes full of unknown materials, switches and blockades, and pipes, pipes that runs on the floors, the walls, the ceiling, soft swishing noises - echoed by the material running through them - adding to the atmosphere.

Omega, the resident expert in things, floated over to one of the nearest pipes and took a gander at the strange noises. "This… this doesn't sound like the noise of rippling plastic, nor the squishing of meats… it… it sounds like a different substance altogether." He turned to Epsilon, hoping that she has any insight.

"I don't know what's in there." she would shrug if she had shoulders. "Haha… the silly guards kept me from exploring. Rude, isn't it?"

"If they kept you from exploring the first time, then we can find answers together - there's strength in numbers." said the Batter, a bit eager to jump back into the fray.

But of course, there's that stupid barricade in the way.

"Stupid switch puzzles." grumbled Alpha.

On the other hand.. "Ah, switch puzzles. I-I believe that I can cover this." offered Omega.

Nobody had any complaints, so the second Add-On went about that task. While the Add-On approaches the switches fixated on the walls, fiddling around, the Batter decided to interview the Elsen employees there, both of whom seeming a bit… out of it.

"If… if only I can pierce the pipes and…" one of the Elsens looks up at the pipes overhead forlornly. "...but I won't get it ever again…"

"If we keep working, we'll get more dessert!" the other Elsen is more cheerful. "All the more better to work productively and wholeheartedly!"

The Batter decided that they'll be getting nowhere if the only people they have to get information from were men obsessed with whatever was in the pipes and dessert. Haha, how disappointing.

Finally, a dinging noise comes from the barricade, receding into the ground; Omega came back, proud that he accomplished the small puzzle. Before they can proceed, however…

...some sort of ghoul appeared. The creature seemingly has no basis on anything in the real world, with hind legs, sensory feelers growing out of its head like tentacles, crazed eyes, abnormal claws. It screeches at them.

The Batter used a very quick Wide Angle as he held up his bat. "That is a Von Gacy, a ghoul with an unbridled hair cut." He doubted that it was hair though; it looked more like tentacles, which reminded him of…

…

They launch into battle…

...and the Von Gacy wasn't even a threat at all, the Batter and his Add-Ons defeating it before it could get an attack in. If there is any criticism to be held against the game this rewrite is based on, it's the fact that it gets really unbalanced in your favor toward the end - but of course, it's more about the story than the gameplay, heh.

"That thing is what you're scared of? Look, with your ear-bleeding stuff, you can take down pansies like these." Alpha said to Epsilon.

Epsilon remained silent, the other three party members waiting for an answer.

Then, unexpectedly, she started laughing. The Add-On bobbed in the air in fast intervals, having a great laugh. "Ha… hahaha! They aren't the guards! Ahahahahaaha!"

"Goddamn. Why can't we have normal people…"

They proceed into the next room. More machinery, more switch puzzles, more strange pipes, and more employees.

"Solving puzzles is such a joy~" Omega said, genuinely cheerful, setting off.

An Elsen in the corner twitched, hissing as the Batter, Alpha, and Epsilon passed by, investigating the place while Omega's off puzzle solving..

"It's such a pleasure to work everyday!" said one Elsen at a desk, unironically.

"Today's dessert was very satisfying." rambled one Elsen, who looked more focus than the ones in the room before. "It was a nice, big portion, much better than the portion sizes we had before.. We have the union to thank for that."

The Batter turned to walk away, but practically snapped his head around to look at the Elsen. "...Did you say union?"

"Yes yes… A group of like-minded workers arrived from Zone 1 a while ago. They negotiated with the director for better rights, dessert being one of them. Because of them, our curfew hours are better, the dessert is more rewarding, and as a result, our production rate has never been higher than before. Surely, nothing will go wrong" The Elsen was practically joyful in delivering that speech.

The Batter gritted his teeth and looked at Epsilon.

"He's right. These nice Elsens showed up and they went straight to Area 4! I haven't seen them since, but if the director is really giving out better benefits, then they must have done a really great job! "

The Batter nodded. Even if the union started over a silly joke, it seems to be beneficial.

Omega floated over, satisfied with his work. "Ah… I-I finished. We may finally press onwards."

They navigated across the room; on their route, they encountered two Von Gacys, who they practically battered. The purifiers, in front of a now open door, tried to go on through, but something stopped them…

" _Entrance reserved to factory employees only._ " a voice said from nowhere in particular. " _Security test…_ "

A faint silhouette appeared before them - the specter that they've been fighting all over Area 2.

" _Please state the passname._ "

Alpha was ready for a fight. However, the Batter knew that this was actually a puzzle, and he didn't need Omega to solve it for him.

"Von Gacy." he stated, referring to the illusion before them.

" _Code correct. Entrance authorized._ "

Then, they were allowed through…

The next room was sickeningly sweet, an appealing aroma wafting through the air. All about the room are piles of strange white substances (I know what some of you are thinking, but I assure you that OFF does not condone drug use). There are mountains and mountains of the stuff, like mountains of snow. However, that's not what the group was initially focused on; they were witness to a dispute between three Elsen employees and three Common Specters. They would have jumped in to take control of the situation, to prevent any Elsen deaths like the ones that died before, yet, there was something different about these employees…

"R...real friends don't haunt their friends supplies…" rasped one of them, realizing that the specters aren't as friendly as they thought.

"The su- the sugar…" the eyes of the Elsen saying that glanced at one of the piles of white. "Do-... don't touch the sugar…"

"Sho- shove off specters." the last one said.

The specters didn't budge.

Then, surprisingly, the Elsen that spoke last got enraged. "Get out! Get out!"

The crusaders watched in awe as that one lunged at one of the Common Specters with his bare hands. In mere seconds, he practically tore it apart. The other two followed suit, eliminating the specters, their clothes staining with red.

"Holy shit, you guys actually wrecked them!" exclaimed a very shocked Alpha. Oh, Alpha, Alpha, Alpha. Every time you underestimate somebody's strength, they end up surprising you.

The Elsens, realizing that there's visitors, turned to face them. However, their faces didn't spell any pleasantries.

One of the Elsens pointed an accusing finger. "You… you're after our sugar too!"

While the Batter would admit that the mountains of sugar gave off nice aromas, he was uninterested in it. The others were definitely uninterested, considering that they can't eat. "We have no int-"

"Sh-shut up! You c-c-can't fool us!" A second said, smoke spewing out of his mouth.

The last one just gave off a hiss.

Then, their heads exploded, thick geysers from their body throwing their work hats into the air. Then, they got on all fours, twitching erratically Their arms practically exploded, taken over by smoke and blood; the geysers formed around the arms and solidified into giant claws. This new type of Burnt is more bestial than the ones before, crouching, as if ready to pounce like a wild animal.

Then, Epsilon quietly said, "These are the guards I was talking about."

Omega seemed freaked out and ready to run, and Alpha was, as usual, seemed disturbed. Only the Batter and Epsilon were stoic (or seemed stoic) in this situation. The Batter threw up a quick Wide Angle. "Those are Cavalry Burnts… Burnts obsessed with sugar."

As sudden as it was, the purifiers adapted and hopped into action. Epsilon seemed to be singing to the Batter; he felt strengthened by the tune, his swings carrying more weight. Alpha and Omega struck back at the new Burnts, whose arms easily reached and clawed at them. One of them were eliminated when Epsilon resorted to producing a Tragedy, and the other two were bludgeoned by bat swings and Add-On strikes.

The blood smell after the battle was completely covered up by the sweet smelling towers of sugar. As they recovered and healed wounds, Zacharie walked in, wearing the cat mask.

"Mmh… it smells awfully good around here. Without doubt, that is due to these piles of immaculate white and granular powder." he said, quoting the game. "I think it's sugar."

"...What's sugar?" asked a dumbfounded Alpha. All he knows about is meat, which is a shame.

"It… it's an old mineral that sweetens foods… I… I thought that there w-was no more sugar…" said Omega, examining the grand piles.

"I know, it's surprising. I didn't expect to find such an ingredient in this place. Ah ah ah… Maybe we'll find the answers to that in Area 3. Video game logic obliges us to go to the third after the second, after all… well, I'll go on ahead. I'll meet you there, so please hurry up."

Zacharie left the room.

"...are they mining the s-sugar?" Omega openly wondered.

"I don't know, but it makes for good dessert." chirped Epsilon.

Then, Zacharie re-entered the room. He seemed a bit bruised. "By the way, I suggest you be careful on the way back. The employees seem to be feeling a bit under the weather."

The Batter rose an eyebrow, but Zacharie left again - running this time.

"This doesn't bode well." said the Batter.

They head back into the next room. For a moment, everything seemed fine, until the Elsen that was at the desk ran toward them, in a frenzy. With the deadly tone of an Elsen going Burnt, it said, "There's all this white in my head…"

Then, the poor pale man turned into a Burnt.

More Elsens approached, zombie like. "No, no… The phantoms are nice, they didn't attack the sugar!" One of them seemed to be saying, though, it seemed as if he was arguing with himself more so than with the heroes. "You're lying, you're lying!"

More and more Burnts. Then, the specters from the first area of the Zone started seeping through the ceiling, And just their luck, there was only one exit. It's a good thing that I got out of there, eh?

They had no choice but to fight through the initial waves. Epsilon's Tragedy competences were of great aid as they started swinging their way through, Omega throwing her competence healing fleshes as she burned through her competence. Not to say that the Batter and Alpha were useless, however; at this point in their crusade, they had accumulated so much power that the first two purifiers easily defeated a few specters in one blow.

Minutes of conflict later, all the specters and malignant beasts in the room were slain, freeing the protagonists to hurry into the next room. This one seemed no better; the Elsens were just as jittery as the ones before, muttering madly, on the verge of Burning up. This time, the crew decided to just run past them. They kept running out of the treatment facilities. They kept running and running until they were safely on the monorail.

They rested on the seats of the monorail car, dead tired after their escape. The Batter saved some bases, while also issuing out tickets. They were all silent as the monorail car chugged along toward the third area.

"...What the hell was that…" Alpha said, quietly, still unsettled that the place had quickly fallen into madness. Or into madness greater than the one that was already being suffered.

"They're all diseased by temptation and addiction." the Batter calmly said. "You've seen how they acted obsessed with the sugar, and how defensive they were…"

"Y-yes, b-b-but - what exactly could be in the sugar? It… it's unnatural." stated Omega.

"Maybe we'll get answers. Three comes after two, the masked guy said." said Epsilon.

The monorail continued chugging around until it grind to a stop.

"...Sometimes when I wake up, I'm afraid that my legs won't be there." the Elsen at the counter said absent-mindedly as they passed by; they hurried up in case he also went crazy.

Area 3 only really had one facility, a building with a smokestack that reached up to the sky, as if competing with the great library of Zone 2 in terms of height, from which specks of ash spewed out. However, there seemed to be a problem. There is no entrance to the facility proper.

In fact, the only way of progression is a ladder on the side of the smokestack.

"...Batter, what's wrong? You're twitching and stuff." said Epsilon.

"He… he has acrophobia. Fear of heights." explained the second Add-On.

"Do we have to carry you again?" grumbled Alpha.

The Batter clenched his fists. "...No. I need to conquer this fear."

He marched up toward the ladder. He stuck his baseball bat down the back of shirt and carefully gripped one of the ladder rungs.

The Batter grabbed the next one. Then the next one. He refused to look down.

"I'm proud of you, Batter." whispered Omega, floating alongside him, in case he fell, along with Alpha and Epsilon.

The Batter didn't answer, intensely devoted to trying to reach the top. He continued his ascension…

A minute or so later, he reached the top rungs; the air around the top of the smokestack seemed sickeningly sweet. It's only then he said something: "This… this isn't as bad as I thought."

'Congratulations! You did it!" cheered Epsilon. Omega felt happy for him. Alpha was also kinda happy.

The Batter then hoisted himself up.

And then fell into the smokestack, screaming. Haha, oh, poor Batter.

"Why." was all Alpha could say to that.

The Add-Ons flew above the smokestack. From their viewpoint, they could see the Batter falling, flailing around, his stoic shell broken as he screamed his lungs out; his conquering of his fear was unconquered and reaffirmed.

"We have to go after him!" said Epsilon, diving in.

The other two Add-Ons followed. They flew after their handler, the stack seemingly going on for forever. Epsilon was the first to reach him.

"I'm here fo- aaa!" Epsilon's grip on the Batter's arm was dislodged when a Common Specter appeared and struck him.

It occurred to the Add-Ons that they weren't alone in the vertical tunnel.

Epsilon flew past the specters, taking a proper hold of the Batter, dodging to the side as a phantom flew up toward them. However, the Batter was falling with so much momentum that he ended up pulling his third Add-On down with him; though, he was now falling at a much slower pace.

"You guys have to slow me down!" yelled the Batter, trying to calm himself down. He swung his body to the side, dodging another specter.

Alpha and Omega hurried on down, trying to dodge the Common Specters launching themselves up, while the Batter and Epsilon dodged on their own as they fell.

Alpha was second to reach the Batter. Despite him grabbing onto the Batter's other arm, the Batter continued falling, though he was slowed down - not slow enough. The bottom of the chimney was in sight...

"I-I got you!" Omega shoved aside a specter and managed to reach the others, holding onto one of the Batter's legs as they plummeted…

…

The Batter sat up, groaning. He felt a little pain - however, it felt as if he had fallen a few feet rather than a mile or whatever.

"Thanks." he murmured to his Add-Ons.

"...We could have let him fall and just use a Joker, you know." pointed out Alpha. The Batter glared at him.

The Batter observed his surroundings. They were in a hot room with metal plating, a few piles of sugar generated from below. Most notably, there was a helmeted Elsen shoveling some of the sugar into a hole.

The Batter cautiously pulled his bat back out as he approached. "Excuse me."

The Elsen looked at them, making the Add-Ons do a double take. The Elsen's eyes were unnaturally large. He huffed in an abnormally deep voice and turned to his work, ignoring the newcomers, even though they had fell out of the sky. Who would ignore somebody who fell from the sky? "The su- the sugar… in the tube. Put the sugar in the tube… tube…" He murmured as he went about his work.

"...I-I feel that we've reached s-some sort of crossroads at our journey…" Omega seemed to gulp. "It's… it's as if everything will t-turn to some surreal horror…"

"Pft. Nah, you're silly." said Epsilon. Though, even she felt some sort of foreboding feeling…

There was only one path: down. They walked down the stairs, descending into the ground as the heat got more intense.

The sight at the bottom of the stairs looked like Hell.

The bodies of Elsens littered the floor, the smell too intense to be covered up by any sweets. Some of them had unnatural wounds done by the hands of the specters; some of them looked as if they were on the verge of becoming Burnt but were put down; some of them seemed to have died in a legitimate accident; some of them appeared to be flat-out murdered. Regardless, they were all the same in death: thrown into piles, illuminated by a furnace with a blood trail leading to it, their final resting place.

They were too busy looking at the dead to notice the Elsen worker, with bloody work clothes, approaching them. "You… what… where did you come from?" He said in a deep voice as unnerving as the one above.

The Batter was unperturbed. His only fear lies in heights and falling, after all. "I am the Batter, and these are my Add-Ons, and we came in through the chimney."

"Ah." He treated it as an ordinary sight and turned around to continue his work.

"What… what the hell is this place!" screeched Alpha; he wasn't sure whether he was saying it out of outrage or fear.

"..."

Explanation time! Unfortunately, the Elsen seemed to have no diagrams at all. It's much too serious for that sort of silliness.

"Um, you're here in the sugar ovens of Vesper, the northern part of Zone 3. Here, we burn the corpses of people who have died, and, thanks to an ingenious sewer system, transform the vapor into sugar. The tubes which traverse the factory walls direct it to the Treatment Rooms, where it is washed and purified from the remaining ashes. Then the sugar is distributed to all the employees as reward for their work every day. It's a secret element… the fifth element… the most important element…

"Because without sugar, people could no longer bear reality, and they would go mad."

The Elsen finished his explanation.

The main party was completely revolted.

"Who… who is responsible f-f-for this…?" Omega shook as he said it, feeling a whole mix of feelings.

"Are… are you bringing me sugar?"

Alpha was further disgusted, as the man knows that the sugar is produced from his dead brethren. And asked for it anyway. "Hell no."

"...The director is responsible. He… he's in Area 4." the Elsen, disappointed, went straight back to work, dragging a body toward the furnace.

The party investigated the room a bit. There seemed to be a whole pile of bodies that all held name tags with words that looked faint but started with a "U".

The Batter, in a captain obvious way, confirmed that all the Elsens aside from the one working were dead. "Let's leave."

"H-h-how… revolting… sickening… we need to bring the director to justice…" muttered Omega.

Alpha remained silent.

They all headed up the stairs.

"...I'd still eat the dessert." admitted Epsilon.

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE** , heh heh heh._

_**Author's Notes:**  This is Zacharie again, reading out the Narrator's notes. Hm, let's see: "I just couldn't wait to get to this part. Finding out the truth behind sugar is the most dramatic scene in the game for me, behind the stuff that goes on in the final stretch of the game. I always interpreted the Game of Mortal Fall as the Batter's Add-Ons flying below him and trying to slow him down enough to prevent him from smashing on the floor painfully." Hm. Interesting headcanon. "So: what will we find in Area 4? Will we encounter the guardian of Zone 3 in the next chapter? Will things just get more horrifying? Will anything be happy ever again? Find out in the next exciting chapter, which will hopefully come out in less than 3 months!"_


	11. The Unsafe Halls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy times.

_Author's Note: I'm here. Sorry, Zacharie's no longer going to be the Narrator, but at least he's still the Judge! Hm, where's the real Judge..._

_Anyway, OFF has recently had a bit of a revival following Markplier's Let's Play of the game. Normally, I fear big Let's Players playing small games like OFF, since a once small fandom would end up getting rocked by a bigger one (ex. PewDiePie fans), but my fears have been misplaced, and I even watched his Let's Play and enjoyed it. To all you new OFF fans, I welcome you to the fandom, and I hope you enjoy this story._

_The switch is now on **ON.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 10:**  The Unsafe Halls_

* * *

The Batter, Alpha, Omega, and Epsilon ascend, leaving the furnace rooms behind them. The sickeningly sweet smell of sugar that wafts through the place is now genuinely sickening, now that they know the truth.

"S...shouldn't we be getting this place… shut down?" whispered Omega nervously. "I doubt this place meets basic health st-standards."

"That will be done when we purify this Zone." the Batter answered. "Besides, even if we remove these workers, I doubt that it'll stop production."

"And you've seen those dudes - if we stop the sugar supply, they'll be upset, and that's just no good." added Epsilon.

"Tch… this place is just fucking disgusting. We need to show the Guardian what for." said Alpha.

They reach the place where they had landed after falling into the chimney. The Batter looks up at the sky above and frowns - there doesn't seem to be any ladders or anything that can get them back up. But then again, that fact pleases him. There seems to be only one way around…

"Where does this hole lead to?" the Batter asked the Elsen that is shoveling sugar into the tube.

"I… Into the sewers." he rasped deeply.

"Would you mind if we go in, sir?" asked Epsilon.

The Elsen did not answer, a bit busy with licking the sugar particles in his hands.

"...I take that as a yes!" she said excitedly, shooting into the tube. With no other option, the Batter shrugged and jumps in, followed by his fellow Add-Ons.

…

…

And so, somehow, they manage to end up on the subway platform of Area 3. The Batter, Alpha, and Omega feel disgusted, as they are covered in sugar that was in the tubes. Epsilon on the other hand was absorbing the sugar into herself, too carefree to care that it's made out of dead bodies. "Scrumptious~!"

"So, we're off to Area 4, then." the Batter said.

"We c-can't do that, remember? We need a card to enable passage." said Omega.

The savior vaguely remembers a slot next to the button for Area 4. "Hm, then let's go back to Zacharie and see if he has anything to sa-"

Speak of the devil, the monorail doors open, revealing Zacharie wearing his Judge mask. "Surprise!"

The Batter isn't very surprised. "Right on time."

"Yes yes. Friend, I've been digging around and I uncovered some information on this "sugar"." Zacharie cleared his throat, and begins: "We're in the sugar ovens of Vesper, in the northern part of -"

"We already heard this." Alpha rudely interjects.

"...Ah." Even with the mask on, they could tell that the merchant is disappointed. "Well, that saves us from another exposition break. Seeing as you know this already, you successfully passed Area 3. Fret not, I have a card to allow us access. Now, come along now, heh heh."

The party of protagonists follow him into the monorail car and take a seat as Zacharie swipes the card and punches the button. Chuckling, the merchant sprawled out on the seat.

…

…

"...How have you guys been?" Zacharie asked, to pass the time.

"..." the Batter isn't interested in answering.

"Same old shit." grunted Alpha.

"I… I've been doubting o-our holy mission, but…" Omega admits, "- there is undeniably corruption in this land. I'm happy to assist, short of total destruction."

"Heh heh heh, how admirable." replied Zacharie, "How about you, Epsilon?"

"Sugar tastes good~!"

"Fantastic."

…

The monorail continues to roll along the tracks.

…

"...Are we there yet?" questioned the Batter, giving into impatience.

"Stop fidgeting we're almost ther-"

The monorail suddenly grinds to a halt. The swiftness of the action ejects the Batter out of his seat and onto the floor. In the midst of bewilderment, a voice crackled into the monorail: "OBSTACLE IS IMPEDING PROGRESS. THE MONORAIL WON'T PROCEED UNTIL THE OBSTACLE IS REMOVED."

The Batter groaned, getting up, clutching his bat. He felt a bit angry - what could possibly be stopping them?

Omega tries to peer through the windows to see what was up. However… "The tunnel is… too dark to see anyth-thing…" Visibility was only as far as the light of the car could reach.

"This seems a bit like a horror video game." said Zacharie, adding to the uneasy tension. Then he let out a hearty chuckle and said, "Well, you people have fun investigating."

"What?" snapped Alpha.

"Somebody has to stay to watch the car. And after all, as a recurring NPC, my life must not be cut short, you must understand."

"Are you saying that there's something dangerous outside?" the Batter asked calmly. The merchant answered with a playful shrug.

"...Well, what are we waiting for?" Epsilon bursts. "Let's go, we mustn't be wasting time!"

"I-I'm not sure…" Omega, though having fought fearsome foes before, is scared of whatever is outside due to the air of uncertainty.

"No, she's right, we shouldn't be wasting time." the Batter said bluntly, going to the door, Epsilon eagerly following him and Alpha trailing in annoyance. Omega sighed and followed his fellows out.

They step into a cold tunnel, which seemingly stretches on for miles in the darkness. There is a strange echo shouting through the area; a monorail car elsewhere, or perhaps the sound of transporting sugar?

Though, there's something else that could be heard, in the darkness beyond the reach of the car, hiding like a bug in the dark. Footsteps…

"What are you doing on the tracks?" the Batter called out, unperturbed by the atmosphere.

…

The steps came closer…

The purifiers get on guard…

Then, they see him - an Elsen. They could see his legs and torso, dirtied up, feet nervously twitching.

"Sir, please get off of the track; we can let you ride in our car if you want." Epsilon offered.

"..." a horrible rasp echoed from the darkness that obscured the Elsen's head. His hands twitch.

"I.. I don't think it's an E-elsen anymore." said Omega nervously.

"Come toward us, now." said the Batter, now holding his bat cautiously.

"...I…" the Elsen said.

"Yes?"

"...I need… sugar….."

Then, the Elsen stumbled out.

The Elsen's head - if you can even call it that - is several times more bigger than its body, made out of horrid smoke, glowing eyes bored into it. He opened his mouth and a grumbling noise comes out, accompanied by a visible word:

"HELP."

"...Christ…" Alpha was too much in shock to properly scream.

The Batter treated the creature before him as yet another enemy and eyes him with a Wide Angle. "This is a Critic Burnt, an Elsen deprived of sugar."

Epsilon seems to be in a stunned silence.

"Regret eating that sugar now, huh?" said Alpha, nervously turning his attention to the monster before them.

The Batter adjusts his cap, confronting the screaming Burnt. "Purification in progress."

And so they attacked.

"HELP."

They press on with their strongest attacks, a flurry of buffs, bat swings, chains, and perspectives.

"HELP."

The Critic Burnt is a Burnt with rather high fortitude…

"HELP."

But then, they realize…

"HELP."

The Critic Burnt hasn't been attacking at all.

"HELP."

With every hit, the Critic Burnt just screams out:

"HELP."

Omega hesitated. He knows that this is all wrong, beating up a panicked Burnt. "B-Batter… we have to stop our assault… t-this man clearly needs support…"

The Batter, who had been prepping for another swing, only sighs. "This is the only way we can help, Omega."

"N-no, there has to be another…"

"We are granting this man mercy." he said - perhaps with sincerity.

With that, he turned his attention back to the Burnt. The Critic Burnt is now on the floor, slowly crawling, giant smoky head screaming captions into the air, an alarm that won't stop.

And so, the Batter steps up, raised his bat, and flips his off switch.

The cries for help stop. The Critic Burnt twitches. In a normal, Elsen voice, it just gave one last gasp for air before fading.

"..." Alpha didn't know what to say.

"..." Omega is conflicted.

"...So, um, I guess that obstacle is out of our way." Epsilon said, trying to bring out a bright side in all this.

"Right. We have to move on." said the Batter, heading back toward the light.

Zacharie, still at his seat, waves at the protagonists as they enter. "So, what was on the track?"

They didn't seem to be interested in answering. Not that it mattered - the car starts to move again, so who cares, really?

The monorail whirs to a stop.

Zacharie is the first to exit, though he seemed a bit anxious to do so. "This is where we part ways for now, friends. This time, I'll precede. Please, stay safe." The false Judge turns away from them and entered the fourth area proper. His footsteps could be heard breaking into a run.

They cautiously go down the stairs. There was no Elsen at a kiosk to greet them this time. Instead, there were hallways, eerie noises echoing down the halls. In the unknown area, they didn't want to try splitting up, in fear of what's hiding, so they all take the west hallway together. There are doors all over the place, however, the majority of them are:

"Locked." confirmed the Batter, trying out the first door, which made a clanking noise as he pulled on it.

They test more westward doors until they find one that actually opens.

The room contains two chairs, which blocked access to a paper atop a long table. How is access blocked? I don't know, but it is. The Batter observes that the table seems to push into the other room. "If I push this all the way in, I could read the paper in the next roo-"

"That's silly," said Epsilon, who proceeds to simply float above the table, "Hm, looks like a diagram? Oh well, let's take it!" She then proceeds to do what the Batter should have done in the game and grabs it.

"That... is one way to get around a puzzle." stated Omega.

They leave the room to continue checking doors. Predictably, the next room is unlocked, with part of a table poking through; however, the room is now useless because forget puzzles. As they continue checking doors, however...

An Elsen is walking toward them, this one wearing a long coat that drags on the floor.

"Hey. Could you tell us which doors here are unlocked?" asked the Batter, not wanting to waste his time checking doors.

...

"Are you listenin' to us?" asked Alpha.

"...hhhh..."

It's only then do they notice his abnormal eyes. The Batter curses and reaches for his bat, but the Elsen is already turning into a Burnt. It lunged like a beast, screeching horribly. While the Batter is beating him back, the Add-Ons attentions are turned to Mute Specters that had silently sneaked up on them.

And then.

The battle is done.

The specters are easily purified.

The bloodied Cavalry Burnt with a labcoat did not even make a noise as it fades away.

The uneasy silence settles back in.

"Let's carry on," said the Batter, now more cautious.

The protagonists continue on their way.

More doors remain closed.

Another severely stressed Elsen wanders aimlessly like cattle. They easily sneak past his horrible and pitiable form.

...

The Batter opens the door and sees a brick wall.

"...I... I don't want to know what's behind that," said Omega, several theories running through his mind.

They proceed.

They head out into another hallway, where yet another Elsen is. This time, the Elsen's reaction time is faster, and he rushes toward them with a roar. The battle ended with yet another dead man, another possible mercy kill.

"Hey, look what's this way!" Epsilon looks over at a group of blocks, which barricades a stairway that leads further down into the world.

"It's stupid puzzle time," grumbled Alpha. Ah, he's understanding the formula now.

"Maybe it has something to do with this, friend!" she cheerfully waves the paper she had taken.

Omega pokes in, looking down on the paper. "The Judge, Zacharie, the Batter, and the Director.. all corresponding to... directions..."

While the Add-On ponders over that, they continue. There are more hallways in the eastern wing of the area; a door sits on the left.

The Batter noisily pushes through. The room is devoid of life and the unlife, however, it's notably aesthetically different from the past areas. Important looking bookshelves line the walls, with books unlike the plastic ones of Bismark, and in the back of the room, with a screen flashing bright...

"Ah, a vidcon!" exclaimed Epsilon, excitedly heading to the vidcon console, the tense atmosphere destroyed.

While she goes to engage in unproductive funtimes, the others investigate. The Batter walked up to one of the bookshelves, eyes scanning over titles. All of the books had one thing in common: "These books are about sugar."

Alpha, who is also investigating via tossing the books on the floor, added, "Same." Among the books are ones that look as if they were stolen from Zone 2's library and journals and documents of some kind...

Omega and Epsilon bounces under the glow of the screen. "What, er, vidcon is this? And..." He noticed a small detail, "...why is the controller... splattered in blood?"

"I dunno and I dunno!" She presses buttons in an attempt to make something happen; after 8 button presses, the screen angrily beeps - nothing happens beyond that. Her carefree demeanor temporarily shifts to that of annoyance when she makes a connection. "Hey! These names - they match up with the buttons!"

"Aah! You're right!' Omega takes out the paper and looks at it and the controller. "T-they likely coincide with the face buttons!"

"Oh, and I bet we have to enter some sort of code which will open up that path, right?"

"Yes, I believe so! You... you seem as excited as I am!"

"Well, puzzles feel fun~!"

The two latter Add-Ons start speculating on codes together, rapidly inputting commands, while the first Add-On could only scoff. "Nerds."

"Those 'nerds' are trying to help, Alpha." Said the Batter, watching the two think things over.

Unfortunately, the two fail to reach a code. "There are 16777216 possibilities... we... we have to find out the code elsewhere, w-we can't brute force it."

"I see..." the Batter said, slowly nodding.

And with that..

They're back in the unsafe halls. The eastern side of area 4 is as unsettling as the west, now with a fresh set of shambling, addled Elsen.

...

Another dying, wordless Elsen lays at the Batter's feet.

"What are their coats for?" Alpha questioned, while watching the Cavalry Burnt fade away with some feeling of guilt.

"I... i believe they're labcoats.. E-Epsilon, do you know.. anything?"

"Hm? Well, I think they were scientists working on something super top secret; why else would we need a card to get in~?" She points out.

"Let me guess." The Batter cut in, "These men worked on the invention of sugar, didn't they?"

"Um... probably."

"And.. and they all went m-mad from their own creation.. um, presumably. ..Meanwhile, the Guardian sits on their laurels below... we, we musn't let this stand." Said Omega.

They continue their investigations.

Doors, doors, doors...

And then...

The Batter opens the door to a lone Elsen, back turned to them.

The Elsen gives a slight twitch, turning. "My legs, sting me..."

Then, he becomes a Burnt. However, it was no Cavalry Burnt, but an evolution of it. The claws remain as the body completely shrivels up under the coat, yet, like clay, the smoke is molded into a shape - a reptile like monster with a gaping maw.

The Batter quickly uses Wide Angle. "This is a Pastel Burnt, also victimized by suga-"

The new Burnt interrupts by taking a powerful swipe, and in the room's small quarters, it managed to strike all of the purifiers.

Alpha gagged, feeling something burn within. Omega realized this to be a symptom of poison and heals as the Batter and Epsilon spring into action. They bat at the Pastel Burnt, laying blows onto its head and body as claws swipe. However, to their surprise, the Burnt seemed to be tanking the hits.

"Our attacks don't seem to work..." said the Batter. Thanks for repeating what I said, Batter.

"We're just not trying hard enough!" chirped Epsilon, gleefully chipping at the Burnt, refusing to accept that their attacks are ineffectual.

The Pastel Burnt bats her away. Then, in the monstrous mouth, the Burnt throws something up - a pained looking Elsen head, the true head. The Elsen head stares them down with demented eyes and stated, "You... you cannot hope to purify me... I... I will lead them! I am a champion among men! Complacency shall no longer hold us down!"

The Pastel Burnt roared from both heads, flying into a rage.

The protagonists wisely choose to run.

The Batter closed the door behind him, but it did little to slow down the Pastel Burnt, who sent the metal door off its hinges with a ram. Its eyes lie on Alpha.

"Get away from me, you piece of..." the Add-On threatened (though it seemed more like pleading). The Pastel Burnt crouches, clawing at the floor in a bestial stance. Alpha starts flying away as the Burnt pounced.

When it did so, it dropped something from its labcoat.

While the Pastel Burnt charges down Alpha, Omega picked up the fallen book.

"This... this is from the library..." said Omega.

The Batter got close and recognized the book. "That's the book I had no time to read."

"'How to become super combat master of the universe in 5 lessons'? This must be how that guy got super tough!" said Epsilon.

"Does this mean he's invincible?" the Batter asked Omega, who was flipping through the pages, while his own eyes absent mindedly read them.

"N-no. There's, um... there's no such thing as invincibility." lectures the Add-On, while looking at the last pages, "This book gives a guide on bolstering strength and defense, however, it mentions that not even gods are invincible. All living things have an Achilles heel or, or a limit...Yes... it says that not even the book c-can teach how to get rid of limitations..."

That's when Alpha comes back, still being chased, the pursuit now being aided by several of the Zone's specters and a few normal Cavalry Burnts.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS JUST STANDING THERE HELP ME" screeched Alpha, who saw that he had no chance taking them all on alone.

"Ah, those guys are in need of some entertainment." Epsilon said in a pleasant tone. She generates a noise, a drama, as they approached. The encroaching enemies were hostile canines hearing a dog whistle, displaying discomfort, and they begin to bleed; the weakest of the specters are even killed outright.

The most noticeable effect, however, occurs on the Elsen head. While the Pastel Burnt's body normally did not react to pain, it started cringing alongside the head, which was subjected to the song. The Elsen head managed to retreat before any more damage is done.

"The head. The head's the weakness." said the bat wielder, realization dawning.

"Oh? But the head looks like its hiding, now." said Epsilon.

Alpha, who is crouching behind the group to heal up from damages, says, "Then let's force it out!"

The battle was an odd game of tug of war, with pushes instead of pulls. The Batter and crew take turns to attack, advancing on the specters. However, when things got too hot to handle, the specters manage to push back, led by the Pastel Burnt. What put this game in the Batter's favor, though, is that he had healing skills and healing items of all sort; while the other side did have Crowns of the Dead, they were easily eliminated. While the protagonists throw Fortune Tickets all willy-nilly, the side of the specters were progressively whittling down...

The Pastel Burnt showed no apparent exterior injuries with each holy blow, yet, the interior injuries were what's important. When the insides are damaged and twisted up, it throws up its true head. Out in the open, the head gets struck, forcing it to seek refuge back into its decaying body.

Eventually, the battle dissolves to that of the purifiers versus the Pastel Burnt. The Burnt though had quite the pushing power, and even without allies, it managed to force the group to the end of the hallway.

The Pastel Burnt screeches and clawed. An unfortunate Epsilon gets caught and pinned against the wall.

Before the Pastel Burnt could do anything else, Omega strikes, getting the malevolent creature to relinquish its hold.

Then, Alpha attacked, roaring; his body connected to a shriveled up stomach.

Then, the head pops out.

"The... the land is corrupt... before and after..." the head wheezed.

The Batter had no interest what it had to say and swung, the bat colliding with its face.

The Pastel Burnt stumbles backward, injuries finally taking its toll, the brain defeated. It fell without grace as it started to fade, "The city is ours..."

With the Burnt gone, the Add-Ons started to rest. The Batter, noticing a door at the end of a hall to his left, heads on over.

The room is seemingly empty, aside from a counter.

Then, a frog like mask pops up from under it. Relieved, Zacharie sits up. "Ah ah ah, it's nice to see that you're still breathing, but of course, that's to be expected. What's a story without a protagonist, after all?" Noticing the Batter's injuries, he offers, "Why don't you purchase some healing items, hm?"

The Batter nodded, fishing out credits to buy tickets and meat, and perhaps some new equipment. While Zacharie retrieves his desired objects, he said, "Zacharie, we've hit a wall. We can't go on without a code."

The merchant chuckled, placing the items on the counter. "I am not in my Judge garb at the moment, but I'll point you in a direction: go back to the room where you encountered that Burnt and claim the prize within, then head to the west end and find a passageway. You'll find answers there."

The Batter nodded, taking his stuff. He headed back into the hallway, while applying Fortune Tickets to himself. For whatever reason, he could hear a tune. A faint melody of chimes and xylophone. It felt childlike.

It felt familiar.

"..." he listened to it wordlessly as he followed the song.

He finds the source; the three Add-Ons had gone ahead and retrieved the treasure themselves - a music box.

"This music is terrible," complained Alpha.

"Really? I find it calming." replied Epsilon.

The Batter swiped up the music box and hands back healing items and equipment in return. "Come on, we need to bring this elsewhere."

They start heading back to the west wing. The halls are now truly silent, the specters and Elsen that were once there now purified.

They check doors until they find an unlocked room with a staircase, which led to an underground passage...

...

Ascending, they emerge from the tunnel in an isolated storage room. There, hiding behind a shelf is...

"Ah ah ah, how are you all?" Zacharie asked, now masked as a cat. I wonder if all his isolated locations in this area was so that he could hide from the Burnt.

"...why did we have to come all the way here to trade the music box?" asked the Batter.

"Do you wish for this transaction to occur or not?"

The Batter begrudgingly hands the box to him.

"Excellent!" Zacharie held the music box delicately, as if it were precious china. "Now, a deal is a deal, and I will uphold my end of the bargain. Now, listen to my hint..."

...

Nothing but awkward silence.

"Erm... so... that hint?" Omega said quietly.

"...I realized that my hint will not work in this medium. There's no README files to be had in a fan fiction." The false Judge sheepishly scratches the back of his head.

"..." the Batter glares at him.

"Not to worry. I suppose we need some help... from beyond the fourth wall. Narrator?"

Yo. You want the code? Of course you do. It is down, left, up, right, Z, J, B, D, then start. Also, pro-tip to the Readers: you can just enter this code from the start and bypass most of the work you have to do in Area 4. PRO SPEEDRUNNING TACTICS.

"Thanks. I suppose." murmured the Batter.

"Hurry along now, the Director will be waiting." said Zacharie.

...

After traversing the halls, they arrive at the room with the lonely console. Epsilon eagerly punched in the code...

Somewhere, they hear something move in confirmation.

"We did it!" cheered Epsilon.

"Finally, we.. we can leave this dreadful place behind us." said a relieved Omega.

They leave the room. Lo and behold, the blocks that once blocked the way further into the Zone are now gone. They head down, only to find another hallway.

Alpha goes on ahead, and after flying a few feet, he noticed a paper plastered to the wall, "Executive suite's notice: You must not be here. ...Yeah, like that will stop us."

The Batter walked past, and he found another paper. "Executive suite's notice: You must not be here."

"Er, guys..." Omega gestures toward the end of the hall.

Down the hall, more and more papers appear, bearing the same warning. They increase in frequency further down, until they are ominously plastered around the doorway at the end of the hall, one last big bid to tell intruders to leave.

But as Alpha pointed out, that's not going to stop them.

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE.**_

_**Author's Note:**  Don't worry, we'll be getting to the guardian soon enough! The next chapter will probably be shorter than this one. Maybe it will also have Attack on Titan references, I don't know. Oh, and by the way, "vidcon" is a reference to Charles Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden. It's a quality game and I ask that you guys play it._

_Anyway, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this chapter. If the formatting is off, please tell me; due to computer problems, a majority of this chapter was written on a tablet. So,_ _I hope that you're looking forward to the next chapter!_


	12. The Purification of Enoch

The story is now on  **ON**.

 **Chapter 11:**  The Purification of Enoch

* * *

Surrounded by ominous posters, the Batter and the Add-Ons walk, anticipating what lies beyond. At the end of the hallway, they reach a door that's surrounded by a wall of paper, full of warnings to turn around. Tightening his grip around his bat, the Batter passes through the threshold, ready to fight the Director.

...Nah, let's solve puzzles instead!

They enter a room with a sequence of numbers and floating blocks - standard but anti-climatic.

"This isn't even a hard puzzle. The blocks are just flipped upside down." The Batter observed, a bit disappointed that there was a disappointing puzzle instead of the Guardian. With how easy the puzzle is, Omega takes a backseat as the Batter simply solves it himself.

The barricade to the next hallway opens up. "Maybe there will be something more fun in the next room." said Epsilon.

The next hallway seems like an obstacle course. The room contains pools of molten plastic, walkways suspended above them. Holes pepper the walkways, which would damn anyone who isn't careful enough to their doom.

"There's something... erm... ominous about this hall - e-even more so than the previous." Omega said, floating in with the other Add-Ons as the Batter is taking careful steps. "It must be here for... um, a reason."

"Not sure what that might be... there doesn't even seem to be any specters here, either." said the Batter. The humanoid begins navigating his way through the paths, walking carefully to avoid the holes.

Upon reaching the door at the end, they encounter a similar hallway, though more easily navigatable. However, at the very end of it all, is a large doorway - higher than if three Batters were stacked on each other to form the ultimate baseball player - an ominous shadow blacking out what's beyond.

"Yeah. The guardian's definitely there." said Alpha.

Having had enough of the tension building, they hurry on their way...

When the Batter and the Add-Ons enter, they at first think they entered a dark room. However, looking forward, they realize that they're merely in something's shadow - but it wasn't just 'something'. But a person. Their chest heaved, and a deep male chuckle echoes through the spacious room. The protagonists' gaze travels upward. A giant version of the Elsen business shirt. A comically small tie. Bright cheeks. A smile. A gaze.

"Who... who are you?" The man asked in a booming voice.

The Batter gets over the initial intimidation. "I am-"

"You're not from that union again, I hope? You can't possibly ask for more dessert."

"No, we aren't from the damn union!" Alpha snapped.

"Yes. I am the Batter, these are my Add-Ons, and we are here to purify you, Mr. Director."

"Purify?" The giant lets out another deep chuckle. "You want to purify me? Nothing justifies this drastic measurement! Who put you up to it? Was it the Queen? ...Regardless, I refuse."

"Were we sent by the Queen?" Epsilon asked, still not fully in the know.

The Batter shook his head and looked up at the giant. "We weren't sent. We work under the guidance of the Narrator and the Readers."

"Who?" The guardian said sincerely.

"...Whatever. We're here to purify you."

"Regardless, I refuse to hear it."

"Um, look, you're the ruler of this horrible malfactory, are you not?" Omega said accusingly.

"Horrible? This is my fortress of happiness, my rampart against the specters! I provide workers treats for their hard work - is that not right?"

"Your workers are falling into madness because of your sugar." said the Batter.

"...Really?" said the guardian. He now seems to be frowning.

"...Are you sincerely not aware?"

"...I haven't left my office in a long time. Way too convoluted for me to leave." The guardian said sincerely. "That union's my only visitors in a while. I assumed that the workers were unsatisfied, so I granted the request for more sugar."

The purifiers stare at him, though more out of bafflement than anger. "They're addicted, not upset."

"Oh."

"And getting the union their request has quickened this land's pace toward damnation."

"..did... didn't you start the union?" Omega asked.

"Huh? You started a union?" Epsilon badgered.

"No." The Batter grunted with a hint of irritability. "This whole land is damned, thanks to you." He said, now to the guardian.

"I only wished for my workers to be happy. I was only efficiently recycling the bodies of the dead, lest they become phantoms."

Now it was the Batter's turn to be confused. "The dead?"

"Well duh, the specters are all dead guys." said Epsilon.

"The hell did you think?" said Alpha.

"Yes, it's only common sense." the goliath agreed with the Add-Ons.

"Doesn't matter. I still hold you accountable and you must be destroyed." The Batter points his bat up at the looming figure. "The last grains of sand have fallen through the hourglass of your life!"

"...Do you really think you can defeat me? Do you truly think I would believe your lies about my wondrous creation, you, who would knowingly attack a guardian, knowing the consequences?" The man's height seemed to grow - he had apparently been sitting down during the whole exchange. "I am Enoch, guardian of the third Zone... My role consists of, like the other guardians, of forming the energy sent by the Queen Mother to a solid context. I am the living engine of Zone 3. The Queen relies on our kind to make living spaces for men. We are a little like gods, drawing the infinite power of the sun to sculpt our worlds into the Nothingne-"

"Oh, get off your shitty god complex high horse and fight us already." screeched Alpha.

"...Very well then!" With an unexpected burst of energy, Enoch vaults over his desk, the ground rumbling as he lands.

The Batter sized (heh heh) up the situation with a Wide Angle - only a confirmation that is the third guardian. However, the Batter feels as if he would be an easy adversary; despite his size, he didn't seem to have any powers...

Enoch slams his fist down, the Batter forced to jump backwards to avoid it. The protagonist takes a swing at his arm, and that's when he realizes that there was more to meet the eye with Enoch; the bat simply bounces off, no visible damage done on the giant. Enoch makes a huge grin and swung, this time managing to slam into the ball player and hurling him into the office's walls.

The Add-Ons press on the attack. Epsilon buffs Alpha and Omega, who are trying to shred themselves across the titan's body before joining in on the assault herself.

Enoch takes another wild swing, knocking a surprised Omega away. He kicked out with a stubby leg, which demonstrates a surprising pack through punting Epsilon. Alpha, taking advantage of the boss being distracted by his fellows, struck at the guardian's face with a Chain attack. Yet, it only bounces off. No marks or bruises are on Enoch's face - his expression spells annoyance more than anything.

"Ahahaha, I am exceptional!" Enoch said, swiping at Alpha.

"Crud, he's monstrous." The Batter said, observing Enoch. Even when they had fought Dedan and Japhet, even when they showed no physical damage, they at least appeared exhausted; Enoch however is still in tip-top shape, grinning as a stunning example of body positivity. "...For once, the choice of the coward is ours."

"Yeah, this battle is no fun." said Epsilon, who just seemed to see the situation as a game with Enoch as the worst cheater ever.

"We need to retreat for now!" The Batter declared. Alpha and Omega are already flying out the door. The Batter and Epsilon follow them, jumping/flying over another roaming arm from Enoch on the way to the door.

As they emerge into the hallway, the humanoid and the trinity quickly take the time to heal themselves up. However, they hear ominous footsteps from behind them. Enoch crashes through the doorway; bits of wall came off, as the doorway didn't seem to entirely accommodate his size - maybe he did have a reason not to leave his office. "In the shadow of death valley, you shall fear the apostle of darkness! I'll kill you Batter! ...also you guys."

The Batter looks ahead, at the obstacle course, and it now occurs to him why it was set up like that.

He begins running, weaving around the holes. Enoch follows, taking large strides, stepping over the holes all together, a malicious grin on his face. Of course, the Add-Ons simply floated over all the holes - lucky.

The Batter emerged into the next room, continuing to run. He heard a crash behind him, signaling the giant guardian managing to tail him. "Pathetic thug... huff... prepare to join the ghosts!"

Running around was much harder this time, with more numerous obstacles. To make things worse, Enoch's giant footsteps caused the floor to quake - the floor in the hallway is much less stable than in the previous one.

As the Batter neared the end, Enoch lets out a roar, raising his foot. He slammed down on the floor, which violently tilts in response, some of the platform dipping into the plastic; the Batter loses his balance, causing him to fall, nearly sliding into the molten plastic. The Add-Ons, who had been ahead, quickly go back to help him, while Enoch quickly gained...

"Whoopsie!" Epsilon said, flying toward Enoch rather than the Batter. What seemed like a futile attack turns out to be advantageous, as she struck at his hilariously small and stubby legs. Combined with the uneasy footing, Enoch tips over, the giant quickly catching himself by leaning against one of the hallway's walls. Before he could reorient himself, Alpha and Omega had managed to help the Batter to his feet and they escape with Epsilon.

"You'll know the errors of your ways, Batter!" Enoch growls; the next doorway was smaller than the previous ones, and busting through a much larger section of wall may not help the foundations of the area. He quietly curses himself, wondering why the hell he designed his executive suite to have small doorways.

The Batter stopped to catch his breath when he was sure that Enoch stopped chasing them, breathing in large intakes of smoke. "Damn, this big bacon is beefier than we expected."

"Um.. bacon is pork, not beef." Omega corrected.

He ignores him. "We have to be creative if we want to take him down..."

"Let's go ask Zacharie. Maybe that weirdo's got something." suggested Alpha.

They start backtracking. The halls are silent again, eerie in comparison to the previous sounds of thundering footsteps. Then, when they get to the room before the hallway full of posters, they see that the path to the right wing of the area is closed off, for some reason. Without any other choice, they head to the left...

The Add-Ons stop floating when they see what has happened to to western wing.

The green tones in the hallway are gone, bleached away. A stunning, pristine whiteness painted the walls, blank and unnatural. The doors are all shut closed, as if hiding horrible things behind their threshold. In the stunned silence, they could all hear something, a voice wandering in the empty air, whispering phrases rapidly; it reminded the Batter, Alpha, and Omega of the Nothingness.

"...I don't like this," Epsilon said; the environment is much more intimidating to her than Enoch was.

After the brief hesitation, the Batter steps forward, unfettered by the change in environment. "Whatever. Let's go."

"W..what happened here, though...?" Omega said, on a futile search for any semblance of color in the hallways.

"Well, the fatass said something about the errors of our ways..." said an unnerved Alpha, "Don't know what the hell this has to do with anything, though."

They continue through the empty halls. They did not bother checking any of the doors - they're all closed. Not locked, but closed, though they are better off left unopened.

Then, they re-enter a world of normalcy as they enter the path leading to the Vesper monorail, back to a world of color. Upon looking back, one could see the purgatory that they left behind, white and empty. The whispers that filled their auditory senses are no longer present.

Omega looks at their current position then back to the blank hallways, stunned by the glaring differences between the areas. "R..really, I want to understand what happened back there..."

"It's unimportant." The Batter dismissed. The path to the right wing of the zone is blocked off, similar to before. Suspicious, he states, "I suppose we have to take the monorail."

They go up the stairs. The monorail sits, waiting for them...

Then, from the abyss below, a large hand jumps up and clutches its fingers through the windows. With a quick pull, the car is broken off from the rails, destroying the only escape. As the car descends, a huge mass rises from the depths of hell. It was the guardian, Enoch, grown to a much bigger size, bigger to the point that he would had towered over the previous version of himself. Enoch's eyes look down at the cast of purifiers, a true, angry frown on his face. "Miserable runts! Cold water eels!" He slammed a fist down on the monorail platform. "I had to drag my body chock full of fat substances through the pipes of my own domain!"

"...No wonder you don't leave your office." Said Epsilon.

Enoch nods in agreement, though it did little to lessen his overall mood. "It was hard and humiliating, but... huff... I'll eat your hopes of survival like a block of sugar... with delight!"

As he said that, the guardian takes deep breaths, as if the mere act of talking was straining him. Observing him, Omega makes an observation: "You've tired yourself out... you've wasted all your energy, chasing us... and turned into this titan.."

"...oh yes." The Batter said, coming to the same conclusion, thinking of the book that the Pastel Burnt had. "You poor fool."

"Everyone has their, um, limit... and you seem to be reaching yours! I... I doubt that you're invincible, in this state!"

The Batter raises his bat, Omega and Epsilon shine ferociously, but Alpha is hesitant. "Wait, he turns bigger and your answer is to fight him?"

"Haha, yep! Not as if we have anywhere else to go!" Epsilon pointed out.

He remembers that going back leads to empty horror and that the monorail got totally wrecked. "Good point."

"Ahahaha! This is all just absurd!" Enoch laughs, finding the mere notion of them trying to fight him to be ridiculous. "I can crush you like the pests you are!" He rose a hand and violently hurls it downward; the Batter rolls to the side while the Add-Ons fly away.

"Here goes nothing." Alpha flies toward Enoch's face and lands a Chain attack on his cheek. To his surprise, a gash actually appears where he had hit; it wasn't a big one, but it actually wounded Enoch, nevertheless. "Holy shit, that actually wor-"

Enoch grabbed him with his other hand. "Don't be foolish!" He clenches his fist then opened it up - a black colored ring falls out. "I may feel pain now, but do you truly think you can fight a man of my girth?"

"Everyone has a weak point." The Batter said confidently, whilst throwing a Joker in Alpha's direction, light returning to his form.

Omega examines the giant, trying to think of how to take him on. "Maybe we can... um, hit his head. He could die of brain damage... maybe..."

"Ooorrrrr..." Epsilon said, buffing the revived Add-On. "How about we take his head off?"

"Are you suggesting..."

"Yep! We..." a hand falls down, Epsilon dodging. Then, to demonstrate her point, she shoots herself up to Enoch's neck and cuts herself across it, making the guardian yell. "...cut it off~!"

He tries to grab her, but learning from Alpha's experience, she slips out of his grasp. As the other Add-Ons try to follow her example, Enoch snaps his fingers, generating a noise; suddenly, Alpha has fallen asleep. Though, this does not dissuade the other two Add-Ons from ripping through his neck.

The Batter meanwhile is still on the monorail platform; having a blunt weapon, he's incapable of cutting his neck. Seeing that Alpha's fallen asleep, he takes out a slab of status healing meat. He tosses it up in the air, holds his bat back, then swings as if the slab of meat was a ball; the meat flies through the air and straight through Alpha, disappearing into his body.

"Huh? What?" Alpha said, waking up.

"That was... actually impressive." said Omega, fascinated by the grand baseball feat.

The fight continues. It begins occurring to Enoch that his position is disadvantageous - he is unable to move anything but his arms in his state, so he couldn't truly dodge or run from the onslaught of Add-Ons. In between swings of his arms, he tries to cover up his neck to guard it, blood staining his huge white office shirt.

The Batter provided ground support, showing that the bat and outfit isn't for show, knocking healing items into the air whenever Enoch infected one of the Add-Ons with a status ailment. Whenever Enoch covers his neck, the Batter uses an alternate means of hitting him: Inspirations. He pulls out colorful sheets of paper from his inventory when the guardian was on edge and tosses them into the air; they dissipate into the air and within a few seconds, a ray of light cuts into Enoch's neck, not obstructed by physical presence.

The collar of the guardian's shirt is painted red, chest heaving. "You... you heretics!" He screamed, voice gurgling. He swings his left arm at the Add-Ons and slammed his right into the monorail platform, nearly hitting the Batter. "Don't you remember what you've seen! You'll damn us all!"

The Batter sees that he's struggling to lift his right arm back up. He holds his bat, feeling that it's now an appropriate time to strike. He hopped onto the back of Enoch's hand then started running up his limb.

Enoch raised his other hand and tries to slam the palm into the Batter, as if he is a crawling ant; then, he felt the floating rings slam into his left arm, throwing it off course. Uninterrupted, the Batter hopped up, momentum carrying him forward -

\- he approaches Enoch's angry face -

\- he wound up the bat -

\- then the Batter swung.

A snapping noise echoed through the monorail tunnels.

Without the brain and one of its functions to coordinate body movement and balance, Enoch's large body loses balances and falls into the tunnels.

A large mass with angry eyes lands on the platform.

And to add insult to injury, the Batter lands on top of Enoch's head like it was a safety mat. 10/10 landing.

"So..." As the Batter steps down, harsh noises comes from the head - and it becomes apparent that the head is still talking. "...the hero has slain the beast." Enoch gasps, his dying brain and failing guardian powers being the only things keeping him alive. "But... do you know what you've just done?

"This Zone, now deprived of its guardian, is destined to disappear."

The Batter simply stares at the guardian. The Add-Ons, who were in the midst of celebration, pauses, words sinking in. "What.. what d-do you mean?" Omega asked.

Enoch's dying eyes shot in his direction. "Don't you remember...? I'm the living engine of Zone 3. With me gone, everyone who lives here, whether they deserve it or not... will fall into the Nothingness, never to return."

"What?" Alpha exclaimed. He turns to look at the Batter, who remains impassive.

"Is this true?" Epsilon asked.

Enoch opens his mouth to speak again - a choking noise came out instead of a syllable. Before he could speak once more, before Alpha could launch into a tirade, everything seems to fade away...

* * *

The story is now on  **PAUSE**.

 **Author's Note** : Can't wait to write the next chapters. :)


	13. The Purification of the Zones

Author's Note: We ain't looking for the Grand Items. That'd be too boring.

* * *

The story is now on  **ON.**

 **Chapter 12:**  The Purification of the Zones

* * *

Like the two times before, the Batter and his teammates spawn in the Nothingness. Unlike Alpha and Omega, however, Epsilon is more amazed by the faint whispers instead of being terrified. "I wonder where these whispers are coming from?" She openly wondered.

However, the other two Add-Ons didn't answer her, too focused on another subject... "Batter... what... what did he mean?" Omega asked, in a quivering voice.

The Batter looks at them before turning away. "It's unimportant."

"Batter..." the second Add-On's voice took a sterner tone. "I would like an explanation."

"Wel _l I_  would like to finish my holy mission."

Ignoring them, he started walking, toward the last marker on the ground, the last available area of the world that he had not yet visited...

"Oh no you don't!" Alpha flies in front of him, cutting him off. "We're not going until you give us an answer, you baseball playing motherfucker!"

The Batter reaches for his bat. In response, Alpha striked him; the Batter stumbled backwards and fell...

..onto the marker that leads to Zone 1. The card that allowed them access to that Zone is inadvertently activated, glowing in the Batter's pockets, ready to whisk them away. The Batter tries to get up, but failed to do so before the light carries them away from the void...

* * *

_ZONE 1_

_"No man needs sympathy because he has to work, because he has a burden to carry. Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."_   
_― Theodore Roosevelt_

They land.

The Batter and Alpha can plainly tell what is wrong.

The light green that had once made up the Zone is gone, as if washed away by the plastic ocean it floated on. The plastic shows little movement, an unnerving calm. There used to be the noise of rain, of soft warm plastic hitting metal, but the only noise that could be heard are the whispers. In the distance, they see more and more white, the blight stretching across the land.

"Batter..." Alpha wasn't outraged -all he had in his voice is cold shock. "What did you do?"

"I purified this land." The Batter forces himself to admit.

The Add-Ons are quiet, observing the shocking revelation.

Finally, it is Omega that breaks out of his stupor."Th-th-this is what you meant?" His voice is loud, carrying the complete indignation. "This... is this what you call PURE?"

"Yes." The Batter answered bluntly.

While Omega chews the Batter out, Epsilon noticed Alpha leaving the scene. Looking between them and Alpha, she chooses to follow after the latter. He noticed her, saying nothing but allowing her to accompany him.

They arrive at the train station of... whatever it was again - the name of the station had been lost forever in the Zone's purification, replaced by gray question marks.

"This is supposed to be like the monorails, right?" Epsilon asked.

"Hm."

"But.." The Add-On looks around wildly -"Where's the ride?" Indeed, the car that used to be at the tracks is gone, off to who knows where.

However, though the monorail is gone, there is no longer a buzzing noise coming from the tracks - they are no longer electrified. They can safely walk to the next station instead; well, the Batter can, the Add-Ons could already kinda float there if they wanted. Wanting to investigate more of the Zone, they get going.

...

The giant billboard that exclaimed ZONE 1 is now gone, so the Add-Ons trip across was otherwise uneventful.

They reach the next station, where the rails no longer went on. To get to the next destination, one would have to cut through the Zone's smoke mines.

The area had suffered another kind of blight. The population is gone. In the past, there had been a few miners milling around its entrance underground; the supervisor that greeted the Batter to the area and gave him his first presentation on elements would be standing in the center.

They're all gone now. Epsilon even poked her head into the small shack and confirmed that nobody was inside there.

Alpha looked at a broken up path, that in the past, brought the Batter to the staircase that led to the annex tunnels, that brought him and the Batter together.

That brought him along the Batter's journey, the Batter's crusade that led to the land's purification.

He didn't feel angry, however.

Instead, he just felt empty.

"Hey, maybe we can find someone in the tunnels?" Epsilon offered in an attempt to reassure him.

"...Sure." He grunted.

They descend.

The afraid Elsens that had once been in the breakroom preceding the tunnels are gone. Where? Well, Enoch did say that the purification of the zones would damn everyone to nothingness...

Alpha felt a strong sense of guilt. He helped out with all this, much longer than the other Add-Ons...

"They must have gotten scared and run off?" Epsilon said. Alpha can tell however that even she knows that she's lying to herself, and that the wishful thinking is too much, even for her.

With nothing much else to do in the blanked out world, they decide to go on. The next room normally contained two branching tunnels, but only the pathway to the main one remains. The yellow block that had once been in the room has morphed, changed into a red one, aka, the type of block that transports people into the nothingness. Though, they choose to ignore it, heading into the tunnels...

Even the depths of the world had been purged. The smoke tunnels' purple colors are completely gone. However, Alpha realizes that something else is gone...

"There are no more damn phantoms." Alpha said, a bit awed. While the Batter's crusade had gotten rid of, well, everything else, he still held up his end of the bargain, the specters purged. ...Mission accomplished?

"Wait! Look!" Epsilon directs his attention down a hallway. They see a shadow, a figure. Alpha feels brief relief, glad that someone survived the purge he had assisted. "Hey, over here!" Epsilon called out to it.

The shadow starts approaching.

Fast.

As it gets closer and closer, they realize that the shadow did not resemble an Elsen at all.

Nor any specter they know of.

Finally, the figure arrived.

It looks like a giant, deformed doll, with stubby limbs. It looms over them, a blank expression on its face.

Then, it roared.

An unearthly noise comes from it, and Epsilon screamed out, being seized by pain.

"Hey, w-who the hell do you think you are?" Alpha yelled at the unnatural being - that's what he chooses to think of it as. It was no Elsen. But it certainly wasn't a specter either.

The Add-On attempts a chain attack on the being's face, a large gash appearing in its chest.

Yet, it did not express pain. Its eyes now look upon Alpha -

"Purification!" Out of the blue comes the Batter, leaping up to the creature and striking it in the head, perhaps hoping to repeat another Enoch. It just took the hit, ignoring its wounds.

An aggravated Omega follows in and he noticed the creature. 'W-What is that?" He yelled, appalled.

The Batter uses a Wide Angle. "That is a Secretary... the guardian of the purified lands."

The Secretary lets out another malignant noise, attacking without moving its limbs. The Batter was blown back with a psychic strike, dropping his bat. Alpha makes another attempt to hit the Secretary.

Meanwhile, Epsilon sat back, feeling sickly. Omega looked at her, and realized: "Oh my, you're poisoned!" He went over and gives her a little perspective.

"Thank you very much~!" She chirped before hopping back into the fray to exact vengeance.

After a few more attacks and more deadly counters, they manage to lay the last blow to the Secretary. Without changing the expression on its face, the Secretary crumpled to the floor like a disarded toy and fades away.

The Batter heals up his compatriots - the fight was surprisingly tough. "We're going back to the red block." He announced. "We're checking the other Zones."

Alpha and Omega share shock as he turns his back and leaves. "Huh? I thought he would want to go straight to, you know, the next place." Epsilon said, a bit confused.

"W-well..." Omega takes out something: the card that had been bestowed upon Enoch's slaying. "I... had to wrestle this off of him... I-I convinced him to let us see our Zones again, o-or I won't let him.. p-proceed..."

"Dude..." Alpha floated over to him. "That's great! I didn't know you had it in you!"

Omega seemed embarrassed. "Ummm... well, in the light of this purification and the.. genocide of an untold number of Elsen, thievery and blackmail is kind of a small thing..."

They head back to the previous red save block, cautious of any other Secretaries - if there are any. Thankfully, they reach the save block without incident, and the Batter activates it.

They briefly return to the Nothingness and its own set of whispers.

Reluctantly, glaring at Omega, the Batter activated the path to Zone 2...

* * *

_ZONE 2_

_"If you actually succeed in creating a utopia, you've created a world without conflict, in which everything is perfect. And if there's no conflict, there are no stories worth telling - or reading!"_   
_\- Veronica Roth_

"No..." Omega gasped out, as they entered his home zone.

Like before, like all Zones that fell under the Batter's swing, it was all pure. No more calming pink, but eerie white and gray. The great library, towering above the whole Zone, is now nothing but a giant tombstone.

"Is this all you need?" The Batter asked, hand reaching for the save block.

"...No... I wish to investigate." The Add-On said.

The Batter reluctantly withdrew his hand before following, in the direction of the library.

The directional aide that was painted on the sides of the library are gone now, replaced by question marks; however, that wasn't the baffling thing. The path to the residential zone is cut off, blocked by a giant cement wall that looks as if it always had been there. The party ducked into the library (predictably, the Elsen that once wandered the formerly blue innards are gone), and saw that even the indoor path didn't lead there. The residential district is completely cut off from the world.

...Well, not completely, but we ain't doing that. That's boring.

Omega drifted upstairs, the rest of the party following him. He floated to one of the shelves that contained one of the real books. "Aha!" He opened one of the books up eagerly; the pages are telling the story of the Frog King. "The books... they're still here."

"That's nice... but so what?" Alpha questioned.

Omega slowly closed the book, respectfully. "Literature is the evidence of the past. It records history and culture, the words outlasting lives. Don't... don't you understand? If.. if this world truly is dead, these books are the only record that people have ever existed..."

The rest of the party stare blankly as he goes on with his speil.

"...these books must be protected..." Omega finished up with his passionate rant, full of words too pretentious for our eyes. "...Let's see what else survived the purification..."

"Sure." The Batter said, seemingly rolling his eyes under his cap.

They begin working their way up the tower, examining every 'real' book at Omega's insistence. Surprisingly, every book they manage to find are untouched by purification. Truly, in the end, only stories remain.

Eventually, they reach the floor before the roof. Omega reads the ending of Japhet's tail out loud - he felt terrible for Japhet. Omega followed the Batter, believing in his cause, that slaying Japhet and Enoch woud have a net gain; yes, the specters are gone, but at what cost?

Maybe this cost.

Without warning, a figure had drifted into the room, blocking their way up to the roof. It is another Secretary - it had a different look from the one of the previous Zone, but the Batter identifies it as such.

Then, just as they begin the battle, the protagonists are taken by surprise, psychic strikes hitting them. Two additional Secretaries, completely identical to the one in front of the group, had wordlessly snuck in behind them. The Batter and Omega get on healing duty while Alpha and Epsilon launch into battle.

The purifiers fight their hardest, as hard as if they were fighting a Guardian. The Secretaries in a group are a formidable force - the Batter was actually forced to use a Joker when they managed to beat the stuffing out of Omega. They are much stronger than any of the specters they fought in the past...

When the last Secretary fell, they immediately started healing; it felt as if they were all hit by a truck.

"Where's a block, I want to get the hell out of here..." said an exhausted Alpha.

"Maybe there's one on the roof." Epsilon suggested.

"What if there isn't?"

"We could always jump off the building, it's the fastest way down~"

"Absolutely not." The Batter growled.

They decide to press on. Out on the balcony...

"Meow..."

"W-what was that? Are there...uh.. Secretary Cats, p-perhaps?" Omega questions.

"...meow..."

"It's coming from up there." The Batter said, pointing at the top of the building.

They cautiously start heading up. The cat noises get louder and louder as they ascend, and they anticipate what could be up there...

And what was up there?

A survivor.

A pale cat walks around in circles, pouring out his heart onto the world with despaired meows. He no longer has his wide smile, a perpetual frown accompanying his mournful cries.

At the very top of the Zone was Pablo, the Judge.

"Pablo!" Alpha said, for once saying it as a gesture of friendliness rather than mocking.

Epsilon gasped, being the only one who hadn't (properly) met the Judge before, being overcome with his cuteness - and sympathy for his blatant misery. "Kitty! Are you okay? You sound sad!"

The cat looked up at them. He acknowledges that they're there, and that they have an excitable fourth member that he hadn't seen before - however, his mind is in other places. "I am meowing at my lung's fullest. I would even argue that the echo that reverberates back to me is the voice of someone I know...

"Have you seen my dear brother?"

With that, the Judge goes back to his futile meowing. The party stands there, wordless, as the poor cat continues his mournful cries.

"So... this is where he's been..." Omega said quietly.

"...We should leave. Let him mourn." The Batter said, cap pulled over his eyes, hiding his expression.

They decide to leave the Judge alone, going back down the ladder. Out on the balcony sits a red block. Before any other Secretary attack or sad moment occurs, they take their leave...

The Nothingness again.

The whispers there seems to be more and more familiar to them as they visit the purified zones.

"Sh-should we go to Zone 3, too?" Omega asked, aimed at Epsilon.

"Sure." She said, as if shrugging, much to the Batter's disappointment, as he really just wanted to move on.

* * *

_ZONE 3_

_"I have principles and I am not going to be forced to compromise them."_   
_\- Alan Sugar_

At this point, they weren't surprised.

All of Zone 3 had become just like the hallway.

"...wait, he had a brother?" Epsilon asked, thinking back on his words.

"It's... it's a long story..." answered Omega.

Omega begins recounting their adventures in Zone 2 as they walked through Zone 3. Similar to Zone 1, the monorail is inaccessible, so they decide to head straight for the cafeteria.

The patterns are gone along with the sugar-addled residents - yet, so are the specters and the traps. They could walk around as they please. With no real investigative lead and Epsilon too busy listening to Omega's story, the Batter leads the way through a dormitory...

...where they hear snoring.

The Batter readied his bat. "Who's there?"

"Wait, maybe it's that Zacharie guy!" Alpha exclaimed. Last time he checked, Zacharie had been hiding out in Zone 3's hallways - had he been purified too? Ordinarily, he didn't like Zacharie, but he was aversive to the thought of him dying...

They enter one of the dormitories.

Lying on a bed is not Zacharie however, but an Elsen. A sole Elsen that somehow managed to survive the purification of the Zone.

He groggily wakes up. The tired Elsen looks around, baffled by his new surrondings. "Huh? What's going on...?"

Epsilon floated up to him. "Don't you worry about it. It's just a bad dream. Please, keep on sleeping." She encouraged.

The Elsen blinked at her, eyes continuing to survey the scene. Finally, he decided that the scene was too weird and that it must be a dream, so he goes back to sleep.

"Ah... I hope he sleeps well." Epsilon said happily.

"...Why do you care?" The Batter asked.

"Because why not?" She answered back. "He's the only one we've seen besides that sad cat, so I thought that at least one person should be dreaming and happy~"

"...You are too optimistic for this damned world..." the Batter said.

"Hey, you're the one that damned it!" Alpha snapped, finally releasing his frustrations of the state of the Zones to the Batter. "You and your purification shit! Almost everybody is dead!"

The Batter frowned at him, unperturbed by his anger. "This world was damned to begin with. You should know, you've been with me the longest. The people of this world were being overcome with stress on top of the hauntings of the demons. How long would it have been before the eventual, violent collapse? In this Zone alone, the Elsens gorged on each other through sugar. How long before their numbers dwindled? How long before a shortage, before they all become Burnt?

"I had to purify this world. It needs to be purified, it's my holy mission. I am this world's mercy before it's inevitable collapse."

The holy trinity of Add-Ons stare at him.

...He kinda had a point, they thought.

"...I have a question, though." Alpha said.

"...Yes?"

"How the hell are those guys better than the specters?" the Add-On is alarmed.

At first, the Batter had no idea what he was referring to. However, feeling that the Add-Ons are panicked by something behind him, he turned around.

There is a doorway at the end of the dormitory that hadn't been there before; perhaps it led to the next area of the Zone. However, in the doorway is another Secretary, one that looked like a luchador.

"...Wait a minute..." The Batter said, as he saw silhouettes huddled behind the Secretary.

Dread filled the atmosphere as not one, nor two, but four of the Secretaries spilled out into the dormitory hallway.

"...You know, I'm not feeling like exploring my Zone anymore." Epsilon said in a quiet voice.

"Then let's go back to the Nothingness. Fast." The Batter said eagerly, partly because he didn't want to waste his time with the Secretaries and because he can finally go to his last destination.

And so, the party retreats, the Secretaries giving chase; curiously, they seemed to pay the sleeping Elsen no mind.

They run across the cafeteria, continually followed by the creatures of the purified lands. The Secretaries are determined, wanting nothing more than their heads -

Finally, the Batter reaches the floating red block. They're practically forced into a corner, waiting to be whisked away, as the Secretaries fast approach...

...

Thankfully, before the Secretaries can start landing hits, they found themseves in the Nothingness again.

The Batter is ready to get going. "Okay. Now, we can finally..."

"Not so fast." Omega interrupted.

'What now."

"What about... that Zone?"

The Batter watched as Omega floated over to the marker that would bring them to Zone 0.

* * *

The story is now on  **PAUSE.**

 **Author's Note:**  Yes, I decided to skip the search for the Grand items. No, I'm not going to skip this certain part of the game.

The lone Elsen originally appears in Zone 2, in the residential area. However, as I've skipped that part, I moved him over to Zone 3; it's also simultaneously a reference to HOME, an OFF fangame (which you guys should check out).


	14. The Purification of Sugar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was actually done a while ago and was posted on my fanficton.net account, but it was only after a few comments did I realize that I haven't mirrored this yet, whoopsie. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

The story is now on **ON.**

**Chapter 13:**  The Purification of Sugar

* * *

The Batter looked at the teleporter that led to Zone 0. Looking between it and Omega, he answered, "It's not pure. I haven't defeated its guardian." Though it was never explicitly said, the Batter had a good idea on who the Zone's guardian was.

"We'll check it anyway." Alpha huffed.

The Batter turned away to look at him. "You don't believe me?"

"Well... you did lead us to believe your quest is... righteous." Omega said, a hint of an accusing tone in his voice. "Allow us to be suspicious."

"My quest is righteous." The Batter said firmly - oh, they just don't understand.

However, knowing how small the Zone is, the purifier rationalized that investigating would be a non-issue. He stepped up towards Omega and onto the teleporter, the only one that did not require a card, and waited to be delivered...

**ZONE 0**

Thankfully, the Zone is not changed, the small yellow isolated island completely untouched by purification. The Add-Ons look on curiously, either because it's the only Zone that none of them had seen and/or because after looking at the purified Zones, an untouched Zone seemed like an enigma.

"My my, who is this?" A voice is heard rasping. "Are you hallucinations of mine? Haha, probably."

A cat strolled out of the lone buildi-

Oh wait, it's just Zacharie.

"Heh, I'm just messing with you all." Zacharie turned around to switch masks before facing the party again. "I'm here too!"

None of them expected him to be here but even Alpha felt welcoming to him, seeing a new soul that wasn't upset. The Batter approached him. "Do you have new weaponry?" They do need to prepare for the last leg of the journey.

"But of course! You are heading for the final dungeon, after all!" Zacharie said.

A few minutes later and with a lighter monetary load, the purifiers begin equipping the new equipment they got. "By the way..." Zacharie murmured. "Have you seen Pablo? He hasn't been here in awhile."

"Ah, he's down in the dumps." Epsilon answered. "Perhaps he'll get a happy ending."

"Don't we all want happy endings?" The salesman chuckled.

"Wait, what's that?" questioned Alpha.

He referred to the small shack that is connected to the main building. The Batter could look into it and he recognizes the numbers on the wall as one of the first annoying puzzles he did.

However, what he did not recognize is the new set of stairs leading underground.

"Those were never there before." The Batter muttered, walking toward the shack to investigate. Did they get built in while he was out in the other Zones?

"Wait, where are you going? Weren't you going off to the last dungeon?" Zacharie questioned; in his voice, there seemed to be a hint of... desperation?

"It won't be that long." The Batter answered. There was definitely something fishy about the staircase.

"Ahahaha, no, going down there will cut into your time." Zacharie said, now with a hint of truthfulness.

"Oh, so there's a bonus dungeon?" Epsilon asked, playing along with the game terminology shtick.

"No. There's absolutely nothing down there." The merchant's desperation was growing increasingly obvious. However, the Batter was a determined man that couldn't be stopped, and the Add-Ons were curious as well. Of course, Zacharie had to let them pass and investigate, despite his denial. He is, after all, just a supporting character, and he is not written as an opposing force. He could only watch from the sidelines as the party descended...

The stairs led onto an underground hallway that led towards a room. They stopped. Inside the hallway lingers a scent. A sweet sensation. The smell of death.

And of course, the resident of Zone 3 was receptive to it. "This smells like sugar... no... it is sugar!" Epsilon exclaimed.

"Really? Here?" The Batter questioned.

"Yeah... it's coming from that room." Indeed, the sickeningly sweet smell of the dead was coming from the sole room that laid ahead. Was sugar stashed there? Was there anyone inside? Did Zacharie or the Judge secretly have an addiction problem?

At least two of those questions were answered when they set foot inside, answered with a resounding "yes".

Like the sugar storage of Zone 3, the hidden room of Zone 0 is filled with piles of filtered corpses. Underneath the flecks of white that dotted the floor is the emblem of a majestic bird - a swan perhaps. At the very end of the room, there is a person, a half-dressed woman who was dancing around, for seemingly no real reason but for the fun of it. She swayed on her feet, as graceful as the bird that was on the floor. She spins around on one foot whimsically -

\- then stops when she sees the newcomers.

"Uh... hello." Omega squeaked. "I-I give your dancing a 8/10."

The woman stared at them; her gaze was similar to that of the sugar-addicted Elsen: completely manic. She seemed ready to attack -

She tilted her head, smiling. "Ah, I must improve then." Omega did not say that seriously, but was grateful that she isn't hostile.

The Batter casually used a Wide Angle whilst she was distracted. "Sugar."

"We know there's sugar in the room." Alpha hissed.

"No, that's her name."

"He knows my name." Sugar spun on her heel, gaze focused on the Batter. "I'm ignoring why everything's so frightening."

:)

"What." Was all the Batter could really say about this. He looked at her analytically; there may be the chance that he had guessed wrong, and that the true guardian of Zone 0 is standing before him...

"I'm never hungry." Sugar made a huge grin before continuing with her nonsensical ramblings. "Think of something beautiful really hard and maybe you will see it tomorrow. Like a beautiful day for example. With a huge ducky. A frightening one. The three wedding rings he carries for his beloved."

It takes the protagonists a bit to realize that she was referring to them. "The Batter is not a ducky. Unless you squint really really really hard." Epsilon said.

"What... what are you talking about...?" Omega asked. "...the sugar is messing with you miss... we, uh, can offer our help..."

Sugar ignores them. "Let's not lose any time to useless introductions." She rose an arm, and it's only now do the purifiers notice the strands of strings attached to her forearms. With her arm rose several spherical objects from the piles of sugar, which now float around her.

Another quick Wide Angle, while the Batter's grip on his bat tightened. "Those are Dummies, her candy based assistants that could buff and heal."

Epsilon excitedly floated forward. "Oh, I can buff as well, your Dummies sound fun~!"

"My, you're an eager one. This dance will be more fun than I thought." Sugar said, with her perpetual grin.

"Dancing? What do you mean? What are you doing down here?" The Batter questioned.

His interrogation falls on deaf ears as she got into a stance. "Let's dance, dear friends."

:)

With a surprising swiftness, she ran at Epsilon, and before the Add-On could react she was hit by a roundhouse kick.

With Sugar being the aggressor, the Batter had absolutely no problem running at her and delivering a bat to her stomach. However, despite her frail appearance and the wound left behind, Sugar did not even flinch. In response, she leaned forward and...

"Gah!" The Batter screeched, hand over a bleeding wound.

Alpha looked stunned. "Holy shit, did she just bite you?"

The Batter did not answer.

Or move for that matter. The humanoid was locked in a paralyzed state.

"The hell did she do?" Alpha asked, question directed at the other Add-Ons.

"I-I- think that she palsied him. I'll get to heal-" Omega said. But before he could do so, Sugar bounded toward him and swung, hand outstretched. Her nails scratch across his ring body...

Suddenly, Omega let out a frustrated scream - not toward his attacker, but toward himself, His body shook violently as he uncharacteristically roared, cracks and wounds appearing in his body. Somehow, Sugar had infected him with some kind of madness.

Perhaps all the sugar that Sugar had consumed had made her blood poisonous; she could resist it, but she could freely spread that poison around, infecting palsy and madness. Sugar is suddenly much more dangerous than they had first thought. Gleefully running back to the Batter, she kicked him, and the frozen body flies a few feet into a pile of sugar; the Batter did not get up or respond, still as still as a statue.

Alpha couldn't help but laugh. The Batter honestly deserved it.

Sugar decided to ignore the Batter, turning her attention onto Epsilon. This time, the Add-On expected the attack, flying back and dodging the strange woman's strings. However, as Sugar attacked, the Dummies attached to her was radiating a sort of energy - she seemed to be getting stronger, and the small wound that had been inflicted by the Batter was healed off.

"Hey, Epsilon, you gotta destroy those things!" Alpha shouted. Those Dummies are making Sugar more dangerous than she already is.

"I got it!" She shouted back. After all, she was the only one in the party with the means to attack groups. She let out a loud tone as she dodged yet another strike. Sugar twitched a little, whilst the Dummies that floated around her head cracked.

While Epsilon handled the Sugar and Dummies situation, Alpha got to work handling their inflicted comrades (while internally noting that he's usually the one that gets affected by status effects and they're the ones that take care of him). He first went to the Batter's frozen body and fished meat out of his pants (please don't take that the wrong way). He was going to shove his meat into the Batter's mouth (that too) but was interrupted when he heard a frustrated scream. He turned around and saw Omega, who was near the point of death, still tearing at his own body, so Alpha decided that he was a priority.

Alpha threw the meat through Omega and watched it disappear to... wherever. Omega pauses. "What.. what was I doing?" He asked, having returned to a stable state. "..er... why am I dying?"

"No time for that. Heal that prick." Alpha said. Omega remembered his original objective and got to healing the Batter of his palsy with a little perspective.

The Batter shot back up, stepping out of the sugar pile, ready to return to the fray. "Thanks." He muttered, using his own healing magic on the injured Add-On as repayment. "Where's Epsilon?"

That was answered by the sound of a tone, followed by the sound of several objects shattering. Epsilon had managed to evade Sugar long enough to hit her and her Dummies with another tragedy - the result being that her Add-On like allies shattering.

"What a sad noise." Sugar said, not bothered by the destruction of her familiars. "This is unbecoming for a marriage, dear ducky."

"...I don't know what you're talking about." The Batter said. He pointed his bat at her. "Sugar, it does not matter if you're a specter or a guardian - you're hostile and must be destroyed."

She didn't even seem to take his threat seriously.

:)

"Then let's tango." She said, launching back into battle.

And so, the fight continued. To the strange woman known as Sugar, the battle is like a choreographed dance, or a musical. To the party, it is grueling fight. The Batter and Alpha are the main attackers, while Epsilon buffed everyone up with various dramas before joining in on the assault. Omega however decided to hang back, taking shelter between the various piles of sugar while the rest of the party kept Sugar occupied; they needed a dedicated healer to heal off the various afflictions Sugar kept giving the others.

The fight wears on. The Batter passed around luck tickets and fleshes to keep them all going. It was a rather long fight. Seriously, I could do with Sugar having less HP in the game, her fight was just tediou - anyway, back to the narration. Sugar is starting to wear down, actually flinching from attacks, her perpetual smile sometimes fading into a frown. Her 'dance moves' falter, her excited drive diminishing.

And then the Batter cracked his bat over her head.

Sugar spit up blood, stumbling. She futilely lunges to go in for another scratch, but falls flat.

"That... wasn't a very nice dance."

:(

She was now full on frowning, happy giggles now gone. She sat up and hacked some more blood on the swan emblem on the floor.

"Looks like the frightening ducky has won."

She got on her feet. But instead of pressing on the assault, she wandered toward the room's back wall. She turned to look at them - and collapsed. The wall supported her back, leaving her sitting up in her last moments.

"Say goodbye to Zacharie for me."

She doesn't move or say anything else after that.

...

The group wordlessly leave the sugar filled room and head upstairs. Zacharie is no longer outside.

"...Zacharie?" The Batter called out. The merchant doesn't answer.

They go inside the building, and they find Zacharie there. He stands stiffly, staring at them; he heard the fight in the cellar, and the fact that the purifiers returned alive could only mean one thing...

Zacharie does not chuckle. Instead, he shakes his head. "I suppose it's better that way."

They have the feeling that he's crying behind the mask.

"...we're sorry, Zacharie." Epsilon apologized.

"...Just go. Isn't there a final dungeon you guys have to go to?" Zacharie said, a hint of hostility in his voice. "Stop wasting time with sidequests."

"...He's right. Let's go." The Batter said.

They walk out the back door of the building and head to the red block that would return them to the Nothingness. While they let the block heal them first before letting it spirit them away, Omega brings up an astute observation:

"Has... anyone realized that there's been so few females in the zones?" Omega questioned. "I mean... h-has there been any Elsen that identified as, well, female?"

"The Elsen are all male." Said the Batter.

"Then... how do they r-reproduce?" Omega had to admit, he never really thought about it before. He just assumed that the Elsen that he came across just happened to be male instead of being only male...

"They don't. As I said, this world is already damned." The Batter said.

Suddenly, they're back in the Nothingness.

"I don't know who Sugar is, but she sure wasn't the guardian." Said the Batter.

"She never told us who she truly was. She just wanted to dance." Epsilon said.

"Guess it's just a mystery." Alpha said.

"...You know... there's something suspicious about all that sugar. M-maybe she used to be from Zone 3... maybe..." Omega paused. "No. That's dumb."

"What's dumb?"

"I was going to say that... that Sugar may have been E-Enoch's daughter. But that's just... ridiculous."

Yeah. Pretty ridiculous.

Without anything else to do, without anything else to sidetrack them, the second Add-On decided to give back the Batter's card. With determination, the Batter stepped toward the last destination:

The Room.

* * *

The story is now on **PAUSE.**

**Author's Note** : And thus, we enter the last leg of OFF. You know, it's funny; when I first started this story, I believed that I could finish it in a year, and here we are, two years after I started it, just getting to the last part of the story. But I can now confidently say that I will finish it this year. Keep our fingers crossed here.


	15. The Unhostile Friends

_The story is now on **ON.**_

_**Chapter**   **14:**  The Unhostile Friends_

* * *

The Room is of contrasting black and white, with a splatter of red - the save block that the purifiers had arrived in front of. The black walls are like a void, the white pools of plastic full of emptyness. There is something strange in the air. The smell of the dead or dying. The protagonists stand, stunned.

Of course, at this point, the Batter and the Add-Ons were used to this smell, so that's not why they were stunned. They are taking a pause, to take it in, to take in the fact that they're on the very last leg of their crusade.

"It will be over soon," The Batter said over the silence. "Soon, we will dream sweet dreams, free of the specters."

"More like a nightmare." Muttered Alpha bitterly. The Batter pretended not to hear him and goes on ahead.

The hallway is empty. No specters, no Elsen, no Secretaries even.

It led into a room with a smaller Room contained inside. At the side of the room, there are a bunch of chairs, lined up in formation. "These chairs have to be for... something." Omega noted. "Well, we... gotta stay on guard."

They head on into the smaller Room. There is a small bed off to the side, a calendar and poster pasted on the wall. The poster bares words, written in messy handwriting with a crayon. The poster reads as follows:

_I don't like this place a lot. Luckily, Papa is here. Today we played together. He offered me a comic. I was ill, so I had to take pills._

"...Batter? Are you okay?" Epsilon asked.

The Batter is strangely fixated on the written poster. After a few more seconds of staring at it, he turned away from it. "Let's go."

"Go where? This place is a dead-end." Alpha pointed out; of course, since there's nowhere else to go, he chooses to follow the others out of the Room.

Outside, there is a peculiar change: the chairs had been moved away from the side, arranged in an open place in the room. There isn't a sign of anyone that could have done this.

Epsilon hovered upward and sees what the chairs had been arranged into. "Aww, the chairs are smiling." Indeed, the chairs had been arranged into a big smiley face that you would probably only see if you were playing a videogame from an overhead perspective.

"How… welcoming…." Omega murmured.

They head toward the doorway that leads into the hallway, but upon stepping through the threshold, they suddenly find themselves in the entrance room.

The Batter cautiously stepped back through, and he's no longer in the other room, but in the hallway they were originally heading to. However, there's something different: the smell of death is more fresh, more recent. "Stay on your guard. There's something here."

They begin stepping forward. That's when they heard the growls. They burst through the other side of the hallway: it looked like a pack of stampeding animals, but they weren't just confused animals, but a group intent on reaching the purifiers. They are a pack of bears, with coats as white as the specters. The bear at the front of the pack picked up the pace and managed to reach the Batter. It stands up on its hind legs and took a chomp out of the Batter's left shoulder before the man could react. Growling like the animal that bit him, he knocked the beast off and smashed his bat down with his right hand. However, the rest of the bears are upon them -

"Go away!" screeched Epsilon while indulging the horde with her finest Tragedy. The bears all stop in their tracks, letting out gurgling cries.

And suddenly the bears are all stuffed toys, laying motionless on the floor.

"...Did I just turn them into toys?" Epsilon reflected in wonder.

Alpha prods one of the stuffed bears. "...Huh. I guess you did." He said when he confirmed that it was no longer moving.

"Maybe they aren't real at all?" theorized Omega.

"I'm pretty sure that bite the Batter has is fucking real." Alpha said whilst the mentioned purifier is applying a fortune ticket on a large, bleeding wound.

After the wound closed up and the Batter swings his arm around to make sure it's still in use, he added, "Regardless, we can consider them purified."

They hurry on (though cautiously looking back in case the piles of fluff got up and attacked) into the next room. Again, the chairs had changed.

"Ah, they're frowning now. Maybe we shouldn't have broken their toys." Epsilon said, who would probably be frowning too if she had a face.

They advance into the Room, which had changed as well. Backed against the wall is a stuffed bear, which didn't appear to be animate. There is now a doorway in the wall next to the poster, which now bore different words:

_I don't like these pills._

The door ahead led to a different set of hallways, plain, windy ones with nothing in them. However, a few steps in and things began to change. The metallic walls lose their shine, gaining a much rougher texture that resembles crayon. The Batter blinked when the change came about; he looks to the Add-Ons for help, but they're just as confused about the sudden change as he is.

Then, they hear the giggling.

What looked like Common Specters begin to seep out of the crayon walls. However, upon closer inspection, they weren't ordinary specters - their ectoplasm had a rough drawn texture as well, and their features seemed deformed.

"These are Abstract Specters, ghouls with deformed ectoplasm." The Batter said after a quick Wide Angle. He swung at one of the Abstract Specters, and coughs when it exploded into a cloud of chalk dust.

The purifiers begin fighting their way through the hallways. The Abstract Specters were easy foes, but they often stood in their way. They manage to reach the end of the hallway, where a doorway is -

-and it transports them back to the beginning of the hallways. Baffled, they run through the curvy passages again and end up in the same place. Maybe they have to try fighting all the Abstract Specters this time? Nah, they keep ending up back at the entrance.

"This is stupid." Alpha declared after a fourth go around, going back through the door behind them at the entrance. Either because they wanted to drag him back or because they agreed that this was stupid, the others follow him…

…

_Papa said that we're going to play outside today._

…

"We should have done that first." The Batter reflected. After a flash of light, they ended back up at the entrance. Nah, not the entrance of the hallway, but the entrance to the zone in general.

They head on.

The room at the end of the hallway, this time, seemed decorated like, well, an actual room. There were tables and chairs set up in a non-creepy way and there are a few stacked crates.

The Zone 2 Add-On decided to investigate the stacked boxes. "Hm… uh, these are all boxes of meat, I believe." Indeed, all the boxes contained nourishment of some sort. "Is this… a bunker of some sort?"

"Wait… look." Epsilon said, referring to windows that lined the wall. Outside, the world seemed to be stuck in a perpetual flash, an eternal light. A light of nothingness. A bright blight. "It seems pretty outside."

"Erm… I'm not sure… there's something unnatural about that light. It seems more like… an explosion."

The smaller Room is near identical to its last incarnation, save for the calendar page baring a different date and the poster now acting as a guide, a drawn arrow pointing at the door. The hallway beyond that is normal. No strange nonsense. But then.

There's the outside world.

The world is dead. The smell of the dead lingered in the air with the scent of the burnt and decayed. The earth itself is blighted, every tree reduced to a dead state. The sky looked as if it was on fire, as if the disaster that claimed the world is still going on. There is no one in sight. There is no hope in sight.

"...That is fucking depressing." stated Alpha.

I know.

The Batter marched outside, the ground crunching underneath his boots while the Add-Ons float around his head. They look back to the Room - it's taken the form of a door stuck to a small metal structure, a bunker of sorts.

"...Sooo, what now?" Epsilon questioned. There didn't seem to be any meaningful goal over the stretches of dead land.

"...There has to be something to do for us to proceed." The Batter murmured,

"But there.. seems to be a lot of land to cover." Omega pointed out.

"Then we should split up." suggested Alpha. The Batter and the other two Add-Ons look at him; the humanoid and the more cheerful Add-On seem to agree with this, but the more neurotic Add-On is a bit off-put by this suggestion.

"Are you sure it's safe i-in this environment?" he rasped.

"...Look." Alpha paused as if to take a breath of air. "Anything is better. I am willing to do anything. I'm willing to walk through this fucking wasteland. As long as I get to spend time away from that motherfucker."

With all his complaining through the story so far, it wouldn't take a genius to know that he's ranting about the Batter. The Batter's eyebrow rose underneath his cap but didn't say anything.

"I know you heard me, don't give me the fucking silent treatment. Look man, I'm an asshole, but at least I admit that." The stresses of following the Batter around on his journey since the beginning egged the Add-On on as he gets into the face of the frowning humanoid. "But you? You're a fucking psycho, and you call yourself a savior."

The Batter sighed as if he was just dealing with an annoying child. "I've said time and time again, this world is da-"

"Yeah yeah, the world is damned. Whatever, don't give me your existential bull. I'm only helping you because it's my shitty duty as an Add-On."

Omega and Epsilon are on the sidelines, stunned, as Alpha gets confrontational with the Batter, who appeared to be unperturbed.

"Do you not want to be my Add-On?" said the Batter.

"You know. I wanted to be an Add-On at first. Saved me from being bored in that Zone all day. But I believed in you, even though you pissed me off sometimes, and that Dedan guy was kind of an ass, so I can understand beating him down, at the very least." Alpha paused. "But I've seen what we've actually done. I don't know what we're going to do when we get to the end of this zone, but I know that I'll fucking hate it."

The Batter looked down at his shoes, kicking his feet and watching the dust fly around. "...What is it then? Do you only want us to split up so you can use it as an excuse to leave?" The dust settled. "We're bonded. You can't leave on your own accord."

Alpha didn't have anything to say to that.

"...But I can break our connection." The capped man said quietly. "I can let you leave." He said, making sure that the Add-On hung on his every word. "But understand that when I do that, you can never go back to the Nothingness. You'll be stuck in the Room until the end."

A normal person would take a moment to debate that, but Alpha hated the Batter that much. "Sure, fine, make it happen."

"W-w-w-wait, what?" A panicked Omega said, shocked by these proceedings.

"...Okay." The Batter nodded.

**Add-On Alpha is no longer in the party!**

"You are not a creature of malevolence, so you're in no need of purification. But if you intend to stop us, I won't accept that." The Batter said, the grip on his bat tightening.

"Whatever. I just don't want any part in your bullshit anymore." Alpha hobbled forward a bit before adding, to the Add-Ons, "And if you guys had common sense, you'd ask this guy to let your asses leave too."

And so, Alpha is gone.

The trio is silent, the only noise being a hot gust of wind.

"...That was better than my dramas." Epsilon muttered.

More silence.

"...He did bring up a good idea, though." The Batter said, referring to the concept of splitting up, hopefully with less mutiny this time.

"..R-right.." Omega looked off into the landscape, trying to take his mind off of what just transpired. "That mountain looks promising. We, um, can travel there and split up to cover it. At the very least, it will, er, give us a good view of our surroundings."

"I agree with that. It can be like a hiking trip. Except Alpha is gone and everyone is dead." said Epsilon.

* * *

The walk to the mountain is uneventful, as there is nothing in sight. No enemies, no living friendly things, just dead earth. Upon reaching the mountain, they split up, now more confident about the idea due to the lack of adversaries. The Batter goes off on his own, walking up a mountain path, silently ascending the post-apocalyptic mountain.

Then, he saw something different in the environment: a cabin. The cabin looked worn down, but is still the only intact building in miles. Reasoning that somebody living, if there were any, would take shelter in the structure, he decided to go inside. Inside, the Batter saw that his reasoning was right.

Because inside the cabin is Dedan, leaning against the backwall.

_The tall mister told me that he'd take me on a pedalo ride, and that we'd all work together to build the new world._

The Batter is suspicious, ready to start bashing. He was sure that Dedan was killed, but the man before him cannot be a specter, because he sensed that he wasn't. The first guardian looked at him in surprise, and said:

"Finally, somebody! You would think that there's no one on earth anymore." Dedan said. His voice sounded softer and less harsh even though it was still gravelly; the Batter couldn't quite put his foot on why it seems to be, but he felt that the guardian as younger than when he first saw him. "Finally… I'm glad to see you, my boy."

The Batter is now starting to doubt that this was Dedan - he is much too friendly.

Dedan moved his jacket aside, showing off an infected wound. "I got bitten by a cow, the pain is too much to bear."

"...Then allow me to heal you." The Batter said, seeing that there's no reason not to, since 'Dedan' didn't appear to be hostile. However, in his attempt to use a saving base on the guardian, nothing happened; Dedan didn't even appear to acknowledge it.

"It's been 9 o' clock for awhile now." The man said, glancing up to the clock; it appeared to be broken, perpetual stuck at the same time. "...I don't know how long I've been in here. Days? Weeks? Months? You must understand my boy, when you lose track of time, you start losing yourself. Without knowing time, you lose sight of the fundamentals of the world. You just start thinking: is this world still real? ...Until you showed up, I thought I was in some sort of damn purgatory." After finishing that sentence, he looked saddened. "I'm sorry for saying that. You're a child, I shouldn't be cursing around you."

It then occurs to the Batter that things are much much more weirder than it already is.

"I don't like this at all. I feel that this ain't real. Or anything is real." He paused. "What're you doing here, by the way? This ain't really a place for you. ...Ah! But no, don't cry."

"What." The Batter said.

Dedan seemed to be looking down, as if he was talking to a small child rather than someone who is nearly his height. "Everything's fine, come on, calm down. Here, let me wipe away your tears."

The Batter is subjected to the awkward situation of Dedan's palm caressing his face to wipe away his non-existent tears.

"This is only the beginning, things can only get better from now on." Dedan said cheerfully. "While you're here… I need affirmation. I need to know that time is real, that this is real. It's been today for forever, ya know. Wanna be a nice boy and find out what time it is? Perhaps your mother knows. ...I'm too injured. I need to wait here until the Queen Mother returns."

That made the Batter question: "The Queen?"

Dedan didn't appear to hear him. "The Queen Mother will make me better. She'll make everything better. Be careful out there in the wastes my boy, she'll be here soon."

The Batter left the cabin, feeling something weighing down in his heart.

For now, with no actual objective in sight, the Batter figured that he might as well help him out. If he recalls, back in the Room, there was a calendar page…

* * *

Omega found life at the summit of the mountain.

Birds are circling around the summit, flying through the dead skies, heralds of the new world. At the very edge of the mountain sat a bird.

A bird that feels familiar.

_The little birdy told me that he'd show me the sky and the clouds, and that I wouldn't have to be scared ever again._

"Ah, a wanderer in the wastes." The bird spoke to him.

Omega realized who it is. "Y-you're Japhet, aren't you?"

"I am the millennial fire bird, Japhet, and I've risen out of the ashes of this world."

"What? But… er… I thought we… "purified" you."

Tiny Japhet didn't appear to hear him. "I have important matters to attend to, little boy."

"...Little boy?"

"I've been appointed as guardian, you see. That means that I have inherited a space in this dead world. I have much more important duties to be doing than talking to you."

The bird seems more… abrasive, which served as an annoyance to Omega. "E-excuse you, but…"

"These birds here are my first subjects, and I demand nothing but respect and loyalty from them, and anyone that does not bow must be punished. That may seem harsh, but I am going to be one of the saviors of this world - they need to be grateful to me."

Yep. This seems like the opposite of the Japhet he met. *cough* Or closer to canon Japhet *hack*.

"W-who do you think you are? You can't get away with acting like, dare I say, a jerk."

The younger Japhet didn't appear to hear him. "Run along now. Your mother will be back soon."

It all began to click in Omega's head. Japhet's appearance, his behavior, the current state of the world. "...Ah. This is a memory of the past. But, um…" There was one piece of the puzzle missing. "Who's he talking to?"

* * *

Amongst the ground, Epsilon found a giant white hill.

"Hey, you there!" The hill shouted.

Okay, so maybe it's not a hill at all.

_The big mister told me that he'd bake cakes._

Puzzled, Epsilon circles around the giant mound. On its other side, the Add-On saw that it's not a land form, but a giant living thing stuck in the actual ground. "Ah, how do you do, Enoch?" She greeted, as if she didn't contribute to his earlier death.

Enoch attempted to wiggle, but he did not budge. "I'm in a predicament you see."

"Oh, that's awful."

"Could you go out looking for help? I need to be pulled out of here. I'll reward you for it. I can bake lots of cake for you, child."

"Cake, huh? Is that a sugary snack? Hmm." Epsilon briefly thinks about ethics in eating the ashes of dead bodies. She then decided that it'd be okay to accept and eat cake as long as Omega wasn't around (as the Batter probably wouldn't care that much and Alpha is no longer around to judge people). Without even realizing that she's speaking to a figment of the past, she answered, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon!"

* * *

After a short trek, the Batter is back in the Room; the contrast between the simple metallic walls and the post-apocalyptic earth is rather striking (though not as striking as the purified version of the Zones). The Batter walked down the winding hallway, knowing what he's looking for specifically. He entered the child's Room where…

...he found Alpha, who had taken shelter in the abode. "S'up asshole." He said.

"Hey." The Batter greeted. He walked over to a sheet of paper that was next to the poster: a calendar page. He ripped it off and faced Alpha. "Bye."

"Whatever." Thus, their brief exchange ended, as the two had nothing more to say to each other, nor wanted to be near each other.

* * *

Somewhere on the mountain, Omega and Epsilon had met up…

"...You do realize that they're not there and, well, they're remnants of the past, right?" Omega said to her.

"Well, I do now." she replied sheepishly. "...But whose past? I don't remember any of this."

"Neither do I… There's… erm, something strange about the Room. There's something railroading us to the end…"

"Do you think the end will be happy?"

"...I don't know."

While they waited for the Batter to hopefully show up, they decide to have a conversation about recent events.

"...What do you make of Alpha? Leaving and all?" Omega questioned.

"I think it was brave. He did what he wanted to do." answered Epsilon. "Do you still want to stay with the Batter, or do you want to be like Alpha?"

"I… I'm not sure.." stammered Omega. If he were to leave, where exactly would he go? He didn't have any plans in case things went south, and last time he checked, the library got absolutely wrecked by purification.

Besides, he had to admit: the Batter kinda has a point. From what he's seen, Zone 2 and Zone 3 were going south and Zone 1 was likely the same. From the Batter's point of view, he's mercy-killed the Zones with purification, even if Omega didn't agree with it. Still indecisive, Omega asked Epsilon: "What about you?"

"I'm staying, because why not?"

"...Why not?"

"As hard as it is to admit it, we've already destroyed the other Zones. Well, we didn't destroy the first one but we kinda killed Zacharie's maybe-girlfriend." Epsilon would probably shrug here. "So I think, why not just see the end through and finish the job?"

"I'm here." A voice announced. The Batter walked up the mountain trail, clutching a sheet of paper in his hand. "Come on, we have to go somewhere. Fill me in on what you found out on the way."

* * *

They enter Dedan's mountain cabin. When the Batter approached with calendar page in hand, Dedan had his first real reaction. "Is that a calendar page? Gimme that!"

He excitedly grabbed the page out of the Batter's hand and eagerly looked at it. "I suppose it's not all that important. It's probably not this day anymore anyway." Dedan said, though he looked satisfied and at peace. "Your mother? Oh, she'll be back soon, she's just seeing the new world. Everything'll be better, just you wait. We'll reconstruct everything, solely with our bare hands; no exhaustion will stop us, we'll be the builders of the future!"

An idealistic fervor pushed Dedan on. "Everything'll be fine again, everything'll be real. Time will keep ticking on in our new world as we strive to greatness! Oh, have ya ridden a pedalo before? Bah, it's awesome. A kid like you needs good childhood memories. Here, take this in the meantime, I don't need it anymore. Thanks for the calendar."

With that, Dedan pulled a book out of his coat and handed it to the Batter.

"Wait… I think I recognize this book…" The library Add-On took a peek at it. "...Yes. This was in the library. I know who to give this to…"

* * *

The scene at the top of the summit is still the same. However, upon seeing the book that the Batter carried, Japhet began to react. "What is that in your arms? Is that a book? ...What, a big mister stuck in a hole?" Even though the Batter and Omega didn't know the context to this, they knew that the bird was probably talking about Enoch. "Calm down, I don't understand a bit of what you're telling me…. If you hand me that book, I'll agree to help your friend."

"Seems kinda selfish of you." Epsilon stated, forgetting that it's still a memory of the past.

The Batter, having no need for books (unless it's about being a cool fighting master) and Omega, wanting to stabilize the timeline, allowed Japhet to take the book. "Superb! Well, let me see what we can do for that big mister." The bird hopped up and started fluttering up to the rest of his flock. "Come, do not dawdle, we have a task to complete!"

The birds obediently follow Japhet as he flew down to another part of the mountain.

"It really seems that the person they see… is a child. ...Probably the one writing the posters too..." Omega murmured. "Batter, what do you think? Who is this child?"

"..." The Batter declined to answer.

A few minutes later, they are treated to the bizarre sight of a giant man flying through the air, being lifted by a group of birds, heading in the direction of Dedan's shelter. Shortly afterward, Japhet comes back, clearly exhausted but with the job done. "Voila, the big mister is free. We will be waiting for you in the cottage. Be careful not to fall."

With that Japhet takes his leave. With everything coming together, they decide to follow after the avian.

* * *

The shelter is now crowded, as all people are present (though Enoch took up most of the room). They all stared down, happy and excited.

"Hehe, thanks boy." The big mister said. "I can see we could count on you."

"Thanks for the book, in these times of misery, it is a very precious treasure." The bird thanked sincerely.

"Hahaha, what a clever lil' rascal we've here." The tall mister complimented.

"Until your mother arrives, maybe we could keep you company." Enoch said.

"We can discuss time and the fate of the world. I shall make a fine ruler, don't you think?" Japhet questioned.

"Yeah, yeah. We're going to sketch out maps of the countries we'll rule over, the land that'll be ours…" Dedan said dreamily.

Enoch bent down, peering at where a child would be standing. "What do you think, little one?"

"A future where every one of us will be guardians of universal happiness!" Japhet chirped.

"Where every man'll have a job, and actively participate to maintain harmony." stated Dedan enthusiastically.

"Where it will be allowed to dream of a happier life at any moment, and where our sons can touch our hope." Enoch declared, every word dripping with optimism.

Japhet began to shake his head. "Of course, you wouldn't understand any of this grown-up talk. You rather should forget our words, the first bright stars in this dark sky."

Dedan walked over and patted the Batter on the shoulder. "Go on, have fun. Benefit from this new country, which'll soon be reborn out of the still-warm ashes."

"You have no time to lose!" Enoch bellowed. "Don't concern yourself with the babbling of three crazy utopists!"

"Ahahaha…" Japhet giggled to himself, imagining a new world, a world where they will be rulers and a world that will be harmonious.

And with that, the memory ended, the three guardians gathered together, bright hopes for the future.

"...What happened... ? To all of this…?" Omega inquired quietly, wondering what had gone wrong in the road toward prosperity and happiness.

"Time changes everything." the Batter said.

They exited the cabin.

And outside is something peculiar.

Amongst the dark dead earth, there is a shining light. A beacon of hope for the world yet to come, as bright as the sun itself.

The Batter recognized something in it.

He pulled out his bat and started running for the light.

"Batter, wait up!" Epsilon called after him.

The two Add-Ons followed the Batter through the wasteland. The light only seemed to get brighter and brighter as they ran…

Within the light, the Batter saw someone. A woman, that stood in the center of it all, the new world's herald…

_Hello, mama. Papa left. I don't like him anyways. I hope you'll be back soon. I made three friends today…_

…

Alpha sat alone in the Room.

Sure, he had nobody and had nothing to do, but it was still better than being complicit in the Batter's plans.

That's when he heard footsteps.

_The cat promised me that we'll have peaceful lives and that we can atone for our mistakes._

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE.**_


	16. The Unamused Queen

_**Author's Note:** Important announcement at the end of the chapter!_

* * *

_**Chapter 15:**  The Unamused Queen_

_The story is now on **ON**._

* * *

In the beginning, the Judge had met Alpha before the Batter recruited him, but the cat could not team-up with the abrasive Add-On himself.

In the middle, they teamed up to explore the mall of Zone 2, and Alpha had grown to respect him more.

Now, as they approach the end, the two are together again, and for once, Alpha is completely welcoming.

"Hey Judge, are you feeling alright?" Alpha questioned with concern. The last time he had seen the cat, he was in mourning.

The Judge makes a reassuring smile, though deep down he seemed troubled. "Greetings, do not concern yourself, I'm fine. But where is he? The Devil?"

Alpha easily guessed that he's referring to the Batter. With disgust, he claimed, "Ugh. Fuck that guy. I ditched him - I should have left a long time ago. Don't know where he is specifically, but probably deeper than we are."

The Judge nodded. "I commend you for adhering to your standards. ...However…" The Judge's smile flickered into a frown. "Leaving his crusade is not enough. Add-On, answer me with the absolute truth: do you feel guilt for your role in this?"

A sigh came from the Add-On. "I do. ...Well, Dedan kinda deserved it."

"While that may possibly be true, what of his workers, the innocent employees that were damned along with their boss, regardless of what they've done?" Pablo questioned. He quickly adds, "I don't mean to be hostile. I'm aware that you did not know the truth of what Dedan's downfall would bring at the time - but do you indeed feel guilt for the innocent?"

"I do."

"And as do I." Pablo nodded solemnly. "I also carry sins. I helped the Batter before you two met - and I enabled that demon to begin his crusade. Every world with the exception for Zone 0 has been damned, and I've only sat on the sidelines and allowed this to happen. I cannot afford to be neutral anymore - neutrality just leaves the oppressed defenseless and the villains free to do as they please."

"...So, are you going after the Batter then?" Alpha asked.

"Indeed. This is the last Zone, the most important one - to lose this place would mean to lose our existence. We must stop the crusade here and now."

"We?"

"Surely, you will join me? We must absolve ourselves of our sins." The Judge stated.

Alpha thinks about it. On one hand, he'd really love to punch the Batter's dumb face in. On the other hand, it's the Batter and he is backed up by two other Add-Ons. Yet again, perhaps he could convince the other Add-Ons to betray him too; Omega is likely, but he wasn't sure about Epsilon, who seems to just go along with whatever's interesting. But then again… he's with the Judge.

"Yeah, I'll back you up!" agreed Alpha.

"Hm. I wonder if an official union is possible now." The Judge touched Alpha.

**Add-On Alpha has joined the Judge's party!**

The Judge goes back to smiling, satisfied by the cosmic unity. "With that settled, we must hurry. We have retribution to deliver."

* * *

The Batter, Omega, and Epsilon's travel through the rest of the Room is odd.

There were three re-iterations of the Room, reset at the entrance every time. Once, the Room was populated by Elsen; the Elsen however seemed less like people but figments of the past, milling around like ghosts. Another variation had shadows of Elsens walking around, looking more like real ghosts. In the other variation, the Batter found himself on the ceiling, unable to reach a door that was in plain sight.

I'm going to be honest, this part of the game was boring with its weird puzzle shit. Not even the inexplicable giant Elsen saves it for me, so let's fast forward.

Anyway, after solving a bunch of weird puzzle shit, the Batter, walking through the upside down hallway, suddenly finds himself reoriented to walk rightside-up, able to pass through a door that was in plain sight. Beyond that door is… another puzzle.

"This should be the last puzzle. Hopefully." The Batter said. He approaches the floating blocks and presses them in order (3755 for those that don't care either).

"We must be getting close - why else would we be getting so much puzzles?" said Epsilon.

"What will be at the end… I wonder…" Omega openly thought.

With the block puzzle satisfied, they started heading back (during which, they were grateful that they remained rightside-up the whole time). Passing through the threshold, they find themselves bathed in light…

_Today, papa gave me a comic. But I want to go out and play. I hate this place. I'm sure mom will pick me up._

* * *

"You're a guardian, right?" Alpha questioned, as he and the Judge cross the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

"Ah, you've caught on?" The Judge walks with careful steps while Alpha floats - the texture of the ruined earth didn't feel right to his ruined paws. "What evidence brought you to that conclusion?"

"Zacharie's been helping the Batter the whole time and doesn't really seem to care about the Zones getting destroyed. Credits come even before fucking oblivion, apparently." Alpha stated. "Sugar didn't turn out to be a guardian either, and someone has to be running Zone 0."

"Sugar? Ah yes, Zacharie's ill-fated companion. I planned for her and my brother to share space in that cellar but…" He paused, clearing thoughts of his brother out of his mind. "I suppose there's more waltzing room for her."

Alpha thought that it best to not to him that they killed Sugar for no real reason.

"But indeed, I am the guardian of Zone 0."

"What's the point of that Zone though? Like… there's jack shit there." The Add-On pointed out.

"That is something I used to ask myself too." The Judge answered, nodding. As they begin to trek up a mountain, the Judge leading the way, he continues, "My Zone lacks the industry and entertainment that the other Zones had. However, now, I believe that my Zone has a hidden purpose; I believe that the part of the world entrusted to me is a failsafe, a safehouse in case the rest of the world has fallen into disrepair. As long as I live and as long as my Zone stands, I refuse the Batter his victory…"

* * *

The Room is normal. No monsters. No lethal floors. No inexplicably giant Elsen.

The only weird thing, the only thing to note, was the book that laid in the center of the child's bedroom.

"What is that?" Omega inquired, watching as the Batter walked over, picking it up. The title bears a sketch of a boxer, with the title:

**Boxxer's Adventures Issue 5: Adventures in Ballville**

"It's… an old comic…" The Batter said slowly, as if he knew the comic from the past and tried to remember the details of it. Failing that, he begins to read it…

"What a beautiful day." The character that's clearly intended to be the Boxxer says in the first panel, though the reader can only take his word for it because the background is otherwise a blank void. "Ballville is peaceful today. Let's hope that nothing will ruin that sweet blue color in the sky."

Without any real visual transition, the next panel has a crazed looking man, wearing a baseball player's uniform. "Ahaha, you're forgetting my diabolical genius!" A little text box pointed at him, referring to him as the "Ballman". "...And my new invention! The cloning machine! I filled Ballville with clones of my evil self, there is no way to stop us now, Boxxer! And also, I kidnapped your little girlfriend."

"Oh no. Maybe it isn't such a good day after all."

Omega and Epsilon, who were reading over the Batter's shoulders, pull away. "That is… erm… kinda awful to be honest. The artist clearly neglects the backgrounds and the plot is, um, rushed."

"It could be one of those minimalist indie things." Epsilon whispered to him.

"I've seen minimalist indie works and, well, a lot of them is good. But this isn't minimalist. It's just… lazy."

They look to the Batter, expecting him to agree, but surprisingly, the man is engaged with reading it. Was it nostalgic fervor driving him? Whatever it was, the Batter was too distracted with the comic to pay attention to the Add-Ons.

And because of that, Epsilon found the motivation to ask Omega, "Should we stick with the Batter?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I believe that friends should stick with friends, but… I don't think the Batter is a friend to us. Or anyone. But I think Alpha is our friend, even if he's kinda rude…"

"...The thing is, I'm not sure…" Omega admitted. Looking back at the Batter to see if he was listening (he wasn't), he continues. "...I… I believe that it's too late to turn back for me… I-I… I'm responsible for assisting the Batter, I… I am guilty. There's… nothing. Nothing to go back to. No forgiveness. The only thing I want to do now is… to finish it all."

"What are you saying?" Epsilon gasped.

"I will stick to the Batter and… besides, I believe that the Batter is correct, in.. in saying that our world is doomed. A mercy kill… that will be the world's last swan song…" He related, forlornly. Then, "What about you?"

"I don't know. I joined because I thought it'd be a fun and exciting adventure." admitted Epsilon. "But… if you want, I'll stick with you! You seem sad, so I'll be around to cheer you up, even in your last moments!"

"That's morbid, but I appreciate it…"

As for the Batter, he's at the end of the comic. The Boxxer is surrounded by multiple clones of the Ballman, who looks like he's been copy-pasted all over the place. One Ballman, presumably the leader, declares, "This task is even impossible for a superhero! You have no chance to succeed!"

"No… Daisy!" Boxxer says.

**How will the Boxxer get out of his predicament? Will Ballville be saved? Will Daisy be rescued? Find out in the next exciting issue of Boxxer's Adventures!**

The Batter, after blankly staring at the comic, shut it close, sighing. "This is really stupid." Facing his Add-Ons, apparently having not heard them, he added, "Let's go."

With that, they walk back out of the room, though, they don't find themselves in the next room…

_Today, mom finally picked me up._

* * *

"Puzzles suck." Alpha stated, watching the Judge as he looks at the finer details of a card with his big cat eyes.

"Granted, while they do slow down the flow of an adventure, I find them quite endearing." The Judge answered back.

"Well, they're slowing us down from kicking the Batter's ass, so therefore, puzzles suck."

* * *

They are at the entrance again. It looked similar to the first instance of the entrance, with the red block that could take the Batter to the Nothingness. However, this time, there's a sign of genuine life -

"Hello, old friends." Zacharie chuckled, the salesman standing at the edge of the plastic pools. "The end is near, my friends. It's entirely possible that this might be my last appearance in this story - beyond the door behind me is the Queen, and we cannot delay these climactic battles any longer, ha ha… hm? Where's the rude Add-On?"

"Gone." stated the Batter bluntly.

"...Hm, I suppose I'll just have to read this chapter later, since you can't be bothered to give a straight answer. But enough of him - you have credits to spend and a Queen waiting for you."

And so, for the last time, the Batter, Omega, and Epsilon buy stuff from Zacharie. Seeing as they're at the end, the Batter decided to just burn through the rest of his money, buying everyone top-of-the-line weapons and armor as well as a sheer abundance of healing items that he'll probably never even need to use; fights were just easy to them, at this point.

Freshly outfitted and all their credits gone, the gang of purifiers head through the door, and they hear Zacharie offer some last words as they leave him: "Bis vincit, Qui se Vincit in Victoria."

Unfortunately, none of them know how to speak latin, but it's the thought that counts.

Beyond the door is a hallway.

But beyond the hallway wasn't the familiar room layout that they've been through multiple times.

Instead, they are now outside, on the front steps of a huge staircase leading up to a platform suspended in the air. Clouds drift through the lavender sky, with a bunch of them spinning at the summit, ominously.

And so they start.

After the first few steps, they realize that the staircase is suspended over nothing, with no apparent ground in sight. Concerned for the Batter's well-being, Epsilon asked, "Do you need help, Batter?"

"No." The Batter shook his head, stepping carefully, whilst making sure that his eyes only look at the stairs instead of the empty air around it. "I will prevail. Fears can be conquered."

A dark thought briefly comes to Omega's mind, as he realizes that one "mistake" (*cough* push *hack*) and the Batter's quest comes to an end. But then he remembers: what's the point? So, instead, Omega complimented, "I-It's fantastic that you're conquering your fears."

They continued on their way, the Batter's sheer perseverance for his goal pushing him on despite the height; this would honestly be inspiring if the Batter's goal wasn't completely wrecking everything.

Eventually, the humanoid and the Add-Ons reached the top.

And the Batter saw the woman of his dreams: the Queen.

The holy matriarch, a gray being, stood valiantly, tentacle-like arms twisting around her own body. Her hair, despite the strands going all over the place, is perfectly static despite a soft wind blowing her long dress.

The first thing she said was… "You're finally here, Batter." Her words came out as an eldritch whisper. "The wait for your arrival has been a long one… But your way was in vain. You will do naught but raise trouble here. Return home."

The Batter stepped toward her. Always keeping his icy assurance, the Batter said, "That's what I did. This here is the cradle of my father."

Epsilon leans over to Omega. "What are they talking about?"

"I don't know.. um, maybe it's symbolic…" He answered.

"Your guardians have fallen. You're now a Queen of a kingdom that no longer exists." The Batter declared.

Surprised, but not at all taken back, she asked, "Why have you destroyed the nation I have rebuilt?" in a cold tone.

The answer was simple. "You've never been in this place to do the slightest thing. Your role was to take care of him. You failed your task." He accused. "Now, because of you, I must complete my sacred mission."

Continually withstanding the attacks that the Batter had brought into the monotonous dialogue between them, the Queen decided to call a spade a spade.

"I have done all this for him. I truly wish for all my children to be happy." the Queen claimed.

"We were so busy preparing for the birthday party, we forgot who it was for." responded the Batter.

"Birthday party…?" Omega's trying to figure out what on earth they are talking about. "What does… w-who is 'he'?"

Epsilon shushed him. "This is getting good."

The Queen lacked the face to convey emotion, yet, they could feel a furious energy radiating from her, the patience of royalty having been eradicated. "You have ruined the carnival, Batter. You will not lay a hand on the son that brought us into this world."

The Batter hears two loud gasps behind him. "W-w-wait, what?" exclaimed a stunned Omega. "You're a.. father?"

The Batter rolled his eyes. "I thought that the foreshadowing was obvious."

"Then that means you're married to the Queen, right?" questioned an equally shocked Epsilon.

More eye-rolling from the Batter.

"Ah, Add-Ons. The extensions of your will." The Queen murmured to herself, watching the Add-Ons talk to the Batter. "Allow me to show you my will, my dear. My will that upholds this world."

Then, there's a sudden flash of light behind the Queen, grabbing the attentions of the off-track purifiers. When the light went away, there were three figures behind the Queen, floating around her; two of them looked like elaborate heavenly wings, the last hiding behind her back like her abnormal arms. Curious, the Batter used a Wide Angle. "That is the Queen, or, her name, Vader Eloha. Around her are her royal Add-Ons: Delta, Sigma, and Ipsilon."

An indignified gasp came from Epsilon. "They… they look better than us!" She said, referring to her and Omega. "Batter, can we look that cool?"

"You cannot!" A loud voice declared. It did not come from the Queen - but rather, the royal Add-On that floats behind her. "You can never look cool!"

"W-who says that you're the authority?" Omega stammered, kinda channeling Alpha a little.

"Me - or rather, us! I am Ipsilon, and I represent the Queen's authority over this land, and our complex, beautiful forms is a mark of our power!" The back Add-On claimed.

"I am Delta, and I am the kindness of royalty." One of the wings remarked. "Give us time, for we will rebuild the world. The Queen's done it once and she can do it again. We will nurture the people that remain and the people that may come after."

"I am Sigma, and I am the necessary cruelties of power, hoo-rah!" The other wing screamed boisterously. "You are guilty, Batter! You are guilty, Add-Ons! None of you are free of sin! For the crime of purification, your sentence is death!"

"We are the heavenly host, the guardians of the world itself. What say you, Batter?" cooed Vader Eloha. "The Add-Ons that follow your will are plain and simple - they are extensions of your simple will to purify and destroy, one for every Zone - and I am thankful that one of them has seen the truth."

"Truth is subjective." huffed the Batter, holding his bat, crouching into a pose. His Add-Ons get behind him, as if mimicking the Queen's royal Add-Ons.

"Indeed." The Queen admitted. "Today, what is considered true will be established."

"Justice will prevail - but whose?" speculated Ipsilon.

"Us, of course!" roared Sigma. "We are the ones in the right, because we're not scum like them! They only deserve death! Death! Death! Death!"

"What part of 'subjective' do you don't understand…" sighed Delta.

"They… their bickering is really no different from ours." whispered Omega.

"Silence." the Queen commanded quietly; her Add-Ons fall silent. "Face me, Batter. Show me your truth."

Without missing a beat, the Batter and his compatriots rush into battle. The Batter, rushing up to his (apparent) lover, swung; the hit connected, but aside from a small twitch, Vader Eloha did not react to it at all. The Queen moved back from the advancing enemies, her and her Add-Ons getting struck by malevolent soundwaves from Epsilon while doing so. As she moved, the Queen did not appear to be walking - instead, she glided, much like the specters that she's been accused of ruling over.

Her own Add-Ons get to work. Ipsilon, giving authoritative advice to their leader, buffs her; Delta, through soft encouragements, heals the wounds that had just been inflicted; Sigma, through harsh condemnations, returned Epsilon's auditory assaults with his own volley. Then, it was the Queen's turn to attack.

Suddenly, the Batter found himself in a black void, the platform in the sky gone. Standing directly across from him, alone, is Vader Eloha, alone. The Batter finds himself unable to move; no, rather, he could not will himself to do so, in staring down his former lover.

And she said onto him: "Have you filled your life with beauty?"

A simple question, really, but it was one that struck the Batter in the heart, pain seizing him. Was it a heart attack? Is the Queen Kira? Or… is he actually feeling intense emotions? Whatever it is, it also hit the Batter in the eyes, because now he's inexplicably blind.

The void around the Batter dissipated, leaving the Batter back in the battlefield; however, he cannot see, only hearing the sounds of conflict around him. Going to where the fighting sounds the most intense, the Batter runs in with literal blind faith and swung-

"Ow! Batter, w-why did you do that? D-Do you want me dead too?" He heard Omega screech at him.

"Oh sorry, not yet." He apologized.

"I…  _what do you mean not yet_?"

"Fix my eyes." He demanded.

He heard the Add-On sigh, presumably getting ready to use a status curing meat or perspective. Yet, before he could do so, both are struck with another auditory attack from Sigma, distracting Omega and knocking the Batter.

"Rah! This is penance for your crimes, scumbag!" the Batter heard Sigma yell. "No conviction, no trial, we execute you her- ow! You, stop with your loud noises, yes you! You're not only an accomplice to him, but you're a disturbance to the peace - death penalty for you too!"

Epsilon seems to be distracting the Queen and her guards from taking advantage of the situation. With them temporarily out of the way, Omega hurries with curing the Batter's blindness. The Batter then found himself looking up into the sky, with Omega floating over him. Grunting a thanks, the Batter got back to his feet and ran toward the Queen and swings at the wing that was Sigma.

The Add-On let out a sharp cry as the bat connected, a crack appearing in their form. "D-Damn you! I… no, I can't die! You must be punished! In the name of the Queen, in the name of this world, in… the name of the people… who are gone… you must… die…"

With one more swing, Sigma shattered.

"My Queen, I suggest negotiation." Delta said hastily as they glided away from the man with the bat.

"Negotiation? Don't be naive!" retorted Ipsilon. "Certainly there are peaceful people in this world - but this man's not one of them! He threatens the Queen's authority and the livelihood of this world!"

"Yes, I'm afraid my love has gone off the deep end." murmured the Queen. "He is so ensnared in his idea of righteousness that he truly believes that there's one way to end this…"

"I'm doing this because you failed him!" The Batter screamed, running toward the Queen to go for another swing.

Yet, he finds himself running into another void, no matter how much the Batter runs, the Queen is always distant from him. And from that distance, Vader Eloha declared:

"He loves you not."

A venomous feeling fills the Batter's heart. Actually, judging by the physical pain it's causing him, it's probably actual poison.

The normal world returns to the Batter's view and he's already quickly getting out a Belial's meat to get rid of the poison. Meanwhile, Epsilon is keeping up with the tragedies, striking at the core of what remains of Vader Eloha's heavenly host, with Omega assisting with his own attacks.

Delta cracked.

"This… this is the end for us all." despaired Delta.

"No! It's only the end when we say it is!" Ipsilon screamed, though they had doubts lingering in their mind.

Delta faded away.

"...My Queen. I… believe that they're right." The final royal Add-On had to admit. "They are stronger and more numerous. I'm afraid… that the Batter's truth will be the prevailing truth until the end."

"..." Vader Eloha does not respond to them. Instead, drifting toward the Batter, she entraps the Batter in yet another void mindscape.

The Batter and her stared each other down. The Batter stood, glaring at the Queen.

The Queen answered his anger with her own: "There is nothing but the void after me."

Was she pleading? The Batter couldn't tell, a bit preoccupied with the pain caused by her cutting words. As the mindscape faded away, the Batter chooses to heal himself; he knows that even Omega and Epsilon alone could beat the Queen.

And indeed, after another strike from Epsilon, Vader Eloha heard a cry from behind her.

"...Authority can make mistakes, my Queen… were we wrong?" Ipsilon asked.

"...No. I believe that we're the righteous ones." The Queen reaffirmed. She didn't need to turn around to know that they too faded away.

One of the few basic things that the Queen learned when she took control of the new world is to never show fear, never show pain. The leader of a country reflects the country as a whole; so, the whole time, she's stood tall and proud against the Batter. She's aware of the situation she's actually in. She's shown little reaction to the Batter's strikes when in reality, they've been wearing her down; she's been shrugging off the pain, to maintain her image as well as the world's. But she knows she's losing.

And that was confirmed when the Batter laid the last strike on her head.

But she did not twitch. She did not scream. As always, she stands - representing the world's last defiance against its destroyer.

Vader Eloha shook her head, feeling her body fail, her form beginning to disappear. "That was very irresponsible on your part, Batter." She paused. "I even made a cake for the party tonight. Would you like some coffee… my love?"

The Batter pulled his cap over his eyes, trying to remain stoic. "Queen of the flies, it's time to join your disciples. It all went wrong. Time to forget about it and dream sweet dreams."

In her last moments, the Queen thinks of the last thing that would be in the Batter's way. "Look… he has your eyes…"

And she was gone.

"They are full of fear." The Batter said quietly, to no one in particular.

* * *

"Ah. Pablo." Zacharie greeted. The salesman looked up at the cat's new ally. "There's the rogue Add-On, I suppose I don't have to read this chapter after all, heh…"

The Judge looked up at him, smile disappearing in favor of a worried look. The cat's known Zacharie long enough that he could tell what he truly feels behind his mask. "Is it too late?"

"He's fighting the Queen as we speak… not much longer now, I'm afraid." Zacharie sighed.

"So what?" Alpha snapped. "We can still catch up, kick the Batter's ass."

"I agree, though I wouldn't have put it so bluntly." The cat stated. Looking at Zacharie, an idea comes to his mind.

"My friend, you've been an accomplice to the Batter via selling him your goods - but it's not too late to redeem yourself. Thus, Zacharie, I urge you to join us."

"Join you?" The masked man put his hand on his chin, contemplating this possibility. Then, presumably grinning behind his mask, he answered, "Very well. Some extra screen time will surely increase the power behind my brands, heh."

**Zacharie has joined The Judge's party!**

* * *

_The story is now on **PAUSE**._

* * *

_**Author's Note:**  Okay, first thing to note, I forgot who was the Add-On behind Vader Eloha in her boss fight. Let's decide that it's Ipsilon. Fantastic._

_Second, we've got something important to talk about. The next chapter will be very short, with the Batter facing off against you-know-who, and after that will be the final chapter. At the end of OFF, we are presented with two endings - one in support of the Batter and one in support of the Judge. In the case of this re-write that is slowly getting more serious and less silly, one ending will be shown - but whose?_

_So, I will let you guys, the readers, vote for whose ending will be portrayed in the story via poll in my profile. If you're reading this on AO3, go to my 'HyperInuyasha' profile on fanfiction to vote. Who will win? The Batter or the Judge? That's up to you guys to decide! It'll be like the Smash ballot, except less exciting and the Inklings from Splatoon are less likely to show up._


	17. The Unexciting Climax

_**Chapter 16:**  The Unexciting Climax_

* * *

_The story is now on **ON**._

* * *

The Room had taken on the color of bright red. The walls and floors were nauseating to anyone normal - it all looked like the color of blood, and the smell of iron only heightens that.

To the Batter, the color reminded him of the necessary blood that needed to be spilled in his crusade, the grand mercy kill. To the Omega, it made him feel guilt, for the unnecessarily taken lives. To Epsilon, she felt mystified, as she was genre savvy enough to recognize that this is foreboding of the end, and she wondered how the Batter's crusade would end, and if it's truly something worth sticking by.

They continued on. Aside from the color and smell, this permutation of the Room was pretty plain.

There's something else however, about the smell of the room. It wasn't just blood, but something medicinal…

And so, they passed through the final threshold.

In the middle of the small child's room that they've passed through multiple times before, there was now a young boy.

"..." He is a sickly little thing, dressed in red pajamas, coughing as he looked up at the visitors with shock. The boy had a small bit of meat near him - presumably a meal bestowed onto him - which he grabbed and held up, as a shield.

Very calmly, the Batter declared: "I'm here."

A fear took over Omega. "B-Batter, what are you doing…"

"Please tell me that we're not -" Epsilon tried to plea.

"Purification in progress." The Batter said.

* * *

The Judge pranced up the stairs that led up to the platform in the sky, panic accompanying every hop.

Alpha floated behind him, tailing his cat ally. As he does so, he looked behind himself.

Their third party member, Zacharie, accompanied them stepping up the stairs. His mask hid his true emotions, but Alpha guessed that deep down, Zacharie must be feeling worry.

They reach the top of the platform. Nobody is there. But there are signs of conflict: the platform was marked with misplaced hits and there were a few blood splatters here and there. The cat stopped in his tracks, staring ahead in horror. "By the heavens, he's already done it… I'm afraid the Queen has been slain…"

A feeling of numbness threatened to overtake Alpha. "But that can't be it, right? Where the hell's the Batter?"

"Presumably, dealing with the final boss." Zacharie mused. "The Queen is only considered a "final boss" in the traditional gameplay sense, though with how easy this journey's turned into toward the end, I imagine that it wasn't much of a final battle. However. The esteemed Vader Eloha is not the final boss from a narrative standpoint."

Then, the platform suddenly rumbled.

"...It seems that he found him…"

* * *

The fight could hardly be called a fight.

Babies are defenseless, after all.

The boy coughed, trying to crawl away, but fails to do so, collapsing almost immediately. He looked up at his killer with his increasingly blurred vision. "I'm… scared of the dark." He said to the Batter weakly, almost pleadingly.

His job done, the Batter finally put his bat away, believing that it would no longer see use. "From now on, there will be no more darkness."

The boy drew one last ragged breath.

And as his body faded from existence, so too did the color of The Room. The red drained, leaving in its place the bleak grays of the purified Zones; effectively, the Room had been purified. In the process, a door had been carved out in the back wall by the purification process.

Omega is too stunned to say anything. But Epsilon wanted to say something - something out of character as well: "Batter… what the fuck? I can't believe you killed that boy…"

Without looking at the Add-On, the Batter retorted, "His name was Hugo."

"..H-how..." Omega stammered, "Do you know that?"

"He was my son."

Without looking back, the Batter marched on.

There's just a long, stretched out, featureless hallway, as pure as everything else.

And at the end is a switch that is currently on  **ON**.

The Batter walked.

Omega and Epsilon followed. It's not as if there was anything they could do - what would even be the point? Even if they chose then and now to betray him, what was there left to save?

They arrive at the end of the hallway.

The Batter approached the switch.

And then: "Stop right there, you imposter."

That's when the Judge sauntered in, followed by Alpha and Zacharie.

"Alpha!" Epsilon exclaimed.

"...Zacharie?" said a confused Omega.

"Heh heh, yep, I'm here." The shopkeeper responded.

"Judge?" The Batter spared him a backwards glance.

The cat walked toward him. "I must say that I had placed the blindest of confidences, the solidest of hopes, and the most sincere belief in you. We can well say that I have erred to the bone." He hissed with controlled anger. "But the real betrayer is rather the one beyond the eye of the cat.

"What have you done, Narrator?"

Wait, what? What have I done? All I've done is tell the story how it is!

"Is the opaque mist of making written adaptations of events really your excuse for writing this tragedy, for killing wife and child? You have not purified this place. You have destroyed it, eradicated it. Immersed it into pristine nothingness."

Before Pablo could continue grilling me, the Batter interrupted him. "It's better like that."

"Better? Like hell it is! At least 'something' is better than 'nothing'!" Alpha yelled. "I should've quit your dumb ass way earlier! I should've known you were shit!"

"As for me, I am tired of helping you." Zacharie explained. "My role as the shopkeeper is over, but I declare that it isn't curtain call for me. I've chosen to take up this new role as optional party member - in Sugar's name."

The Batter turned away from the switch, reaching for his bat, Omega and Epsilon floating at his sides. The Judge stepped toward the Batter, Alpha floating over him, Zacharie standing next to him, hand hidden behind his back suspiciously.

"Narrator!" The Judge called out. "Join me! Expiate the sins with us that we are guilty of by throwing your narrative off track!"

"Don't do that. I need you to narrate the official ending so that I may purify the world." The Batter said.

"The time has now come to render your final and futile judgement!"

And so they stand, awaiting for the ending.

...Um… shit, how do I end this story? Damn, I need to pause this…!

_The story is now on **PAUSE**._

* * *

_**Author's Note:**  We're doing it fam. We're almost at the end. As I said at the end of the last chapter, I put a poll on my fanfiction profile (reminder to AO3 readers: look for HyperInuyasha's profile) to decide whose ending we follow. As it stands, the poll is currently tied. On July 11th, the poll will be closed - if it's still at a tie by then, I guess I'll flip a coin for the ending I guess._

_Thank you for reading up to now._


	18. The Purification of The Batter

**Chapter Final:**  The Purification of The Batter

* * *

The story is now on  **ON**.

* * *

The Readers have made their decision. Four of them choose to side with the Batter, to finish the job that he had started and they were witness to.

But five of the Readers refuse to do so.

And so, the Judge grinned at the Batter, the demands of the Readers and the narration of I, the Narrator, being heard by his feline ears. "It appears that the verdict's been decided."

The Batter is a bit annoyed by this turn of events. "No."

"Sometimes fictional works have to cave into the demands of the fans, my former customer." Zacharie let out a chuckle, stepping toward him. "The fans have chosen wisely, I say."

"W..what is the point?" Omega stammered, staying at the Batter's side. "We have to finish our… j-job. There's nothing left to save."

"You'll be dragging me down, and these guys too, asshole!" Alpha shouted, a bit surprised that Omega had actually decided that the Batter was correct; he fully expected the second Add-On to take the more moral choice.

"We know… it's unkind to do this to you guys, but…" Epsilon murmured sticking next to the Batter, "There's no future for you. I'm sorry, but there just isn't!"

"Epsilon…" Alpha whispered to himself in shock. While he was disappointed in Omega, to see that Epsilon crossed over the despair event horizon is a shock.

"The Queen built the world once, the cradle of the Son, Hugo." The Judge lectured. "She somehow reconstructed the world from the ashes of the past - the possibility of yet another revival lingers."

"This world needs to be purified." The Batter countered insistently, through clenched teeth that looked sharp to his opposition. "The old world fell and this world was falling apart before I started my holy mission. All you'll do is continue the cycle."

"Fuck you and fuck the cycle - we'll fix the world after we're through with you!" Alpha declared.

"Indeed. Now Batter…" The Judge stretched out, back raised, ready to pounce. "Taste our revanchist thirst for justice!"

"Purification in progress." The Batter said.

And then the fight began.

The Batter and Omega launch themselves at the interrupters, while Epsilon hung at the back. After many a battle, Alpha recognized what she was doing. He flew toward her, dodging to avoid the swing of the bat, to collide with Epsilon to interrupt her from putting up buffs. Omega attacked the Judge, who gained a cut in his side. Showing no mercy to the erudite Add-On, the Judge leapt toward him, unleashing an Aneurysm Rupture; of course, Omega didn't have internal organs or bones, but it still hurt.

As for the Batter, he was confronting his former arms dealer. He swung his bat chaotically, trying to land a hit on Zacharie, who kept jumping back. Then, however, the bat wielder forced him against a wall, and with his bat raised…

Clang.

As he brought it down, Zacharie had brought out a sword; wow, an actual JRPG weapon, what a shock.

"Wait, you have swords?" Epsilon yelled toward him as she flew around Alpha - who seemed to be attacking his former teammate half-heartedly - distracted. "How come you never sold us swords?"

Omega pushed Pablo back, quickly applying a fortune ticket on his wounds. "W-we don't have hands, why on earth would we need swords?"

"It was in my concept art, friend, if that's still an appropriate thing to call you." Zacharie answered Epsilon. The Batter applied more pressure on his bat, as if his metal bat and pure genocidal belief could shatter the sword. In response, the shopkeeper kicked at the Batter's stomach, knocking him away. With flighty steps that could be seen as almost gleeful, Zacharie hopped toward the Batter, swinging his concept art exclusive sword at him, the Batter blocking every slash. "Ah, just imagine if I was a bonus boss!"

"Whatever. Your video game talk ends here." The Batter grunted. He gripped his bat tightly, preparing to use a homerun skill on the man before him…

...but as he swung, the Batter spun on his heel, and instead, struck a nearby Alpha, who had been too busy fighting Epsilon to catch wind of the surprise attack. It collided with Alpha roughly, sending the poor ring into the wall. The misleading target, glancing between Alpha and the Batter, quickly thrust his sword out - this time, he managed to catch the purifier in the abdomen.

Epsilon froze, looking at her ex-comrade, unsure of what to do. Her growing despair says finish him off, but her feelings of comradeship shouted mercy.

"Epsilon!" The Batter shouted, stepping back from Zacharie while applying fortune tickets over his wound, crouching to the floor. "Do it!"

"I… I don't know…" She admitted.

Sensing her hesitation, the cat turned toward her."Add-On, if you're not sure of your allegiance, join your hands with ours!" The Judge called to her. Turning his head to the more hostile Add-On, who tried to approach while is back was turned, he unleashed yet another Aneurysm Rupture.

The force of the competence had Omega shrieking and shaking, shying away from the Judge. "N-n-no! G-get away from me!" He tried to see if he had any recovery items left on his person - but there were none. Practically crying, he admitted, "I… I'm afraid! I don't want to die!"

"Then you too can become our ally!" Pablo offered, sympathetic for the fearful Add-On.

"N.. no. I'm… no, we. We're as good as dead. All of us." Omega sniffled, feeling defeated. "Either the Batter ends all of our lives… or… or we wander the wastes until we pass.

"But… I don't want to help be the world's end… and… and… I don't want to die a slow death."

Then, the second Add-On, shaking, began to blacken, the light radiating from his form fading away. Even the Batter turned to face his party member (which allowed Zacharie to strafe around him to help out the heavily injured Alpha), to watch as Omega shook violently.

"This… this is preferable…" He murmured, as he willed his own body to accomplish his last wish.

A crack appeared in Omega, who did not say a word. And would not say another word as the cracks began to spread through his darkened body. With one final great shake, the Add-On Omega simply shattered like glass, the broken pieces of his body fading away, leaving no trace of the neurotic being.

The Judge looked at the blank space where he used to be with wide eyes, knowing full well what he was trying to do. "I can't believe it… through sheer force of will, he's killed himself…"

After some medical aid (which Zacharie expects to be paid back assuming that they survive), Alpha is up again - and is upset rather than happy. He found Omega annoying and thought he was an asshole for siding with the Batter - but he felt extremely bad for the Add-On. "Hey Zacharie, we can revive him… right?"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "...I'm afraid there's no intact body to give a Joker to." Zacharie murmured to him.

However, in contrast to whatever everyone else felt, the Batter just said a callous, "Whatever." He stood, his wound healed off. His eyes surveyed the room, focusing on the switch on the other end. "Epsilon and I can manage this."

"..." Epsilon is silent, also staring at where Omega used to be.

"...Epsilon?"

Then an Add-On tackled him. And it wasn't Alpha.

"I'm sick of you, Batter! You… you callous jerk!" Epsilon exploded as she floated over him. "Is that all you have to say about Omega? He's done nothing but help you, and that's all you say? It's your fault he did this, you know!" She punctuated each word with further strikes. "I! Hate! You!"

The Batter staggered back, somewhat taken aback by her change of heart. Now seeing her as yet another obstacle, knowing that she's too furious about Omega's death to rejoin him, he rose his bat, prepared to strike.

He was too focused on the Add-On in front of him to see the other attacking him from the side. The strike knocked him to the ground, cutting into his side. The Batter swiped with his bat, keeping the Add-Ons back, jumping up to his feet. Before he could press on with the assault however, Zacharie jumped toward him with the vicious pounce of a jungle cat, sword swinging down onto his bat. The Batter found himself frustrated as Zacharie forced him into a duel, the blade flurry making him keep his attention on him.

Which allowed the Judge to assault him with his strongest competence from behind.

The Batter felt something inside of him rupture, striking him at his core. He froze momentarily to process what happened - which allowed Zacharie to thrust his sword into his chest. He fell to his knees after the sword was drawn out of him, thinking that if his former Add-Ons chose to attack as well, it'd be salt in his wounds; so of course both of them ganged up on him before he could so much as take out a ticket.

The purifier is on the ground, collapsed in a heap, coughing blood, red painting the bleak gray. A paw poked at his head, nearly knocking his cap off; he felt that everybody was standing/floating around him. "Batter, your genocidal crusade comes to an end. May your sins sink your boat across the River Styx."

"N-no…" The Batter stammered, coughing. "I need to… finish my sacred mission."

"Give it up, Batter!" Epsilon, of all people, snapped.

He ignored her. His eyes searched desperately for his bat; he glanced up and saw that it was in Zacharie's hands, back to the guy that sold it to him.

His eyes instead darted over to the end of the room. The switch. Perfectly unguarded.

Screw fighting these guys.

The Batter, seeing his last chance, summoned up the last of his energy for a second wind. He backhanded the Judge away and hopped onto his feet; he stood, his back hunched, blood streaming from his mouth and chest, teeth looking absolutely monstrous.

"I must finish my sacred mission!" He declared, in genuine desperation.

His hands were like claws, swiping Zacharie and Epsilon aside as he started a mad dash toward the switch, going as fast as he can despite a limp. The Batter's hand was outstretched as he approached, prepared to pull the switch to OFF…

"That's enough!"

It was his most vocal critic, the first ally that left him, that shouted that.

It was Alpha that knocked him to the floor, grounding into the Batter's back with his strongest competence.

"Just fuck off and die already!" Alpha screeched, continuing his assault.

Despite the attack, the Batter tried to reach up, to the switch on the wall, trying to ignore the pain as he reached for oblivion.

His arm went slack against the wall.

The Batter could no longer summon up the energy or effort to reach further.

Alpha pulled away from the Batter, dripping in his blood. He stared down at the humanoid purifier: the Batter's back had been absolutely shredded, all the red staining his tunic. He was already bleeding internally and externally by Pablo's and Zacharie's attacks - if Alpha's last attack didn't kill the Batter, blood loss surely would.

The Batter laid on his stomach, letting out choking noises. His hat had fallen off, revealing eyes that blinked erratically as he tried to stay conscious and hair that is as messy as he is now. A familiar furry friend walked up to the side of his head, where he could see him. The Batter looked at him, keeping a blank expression on his face. "It's too late." He coughed. "Everything is lost."

The Judge sighed, glaring at the Batter. "Even if that may be true… this is much more preferable than your victory."

Summoning his mental energies, the Judge let loose with one last strike.

The man that was the Batter slid across the room, colliding to the side, well away from the switch that he sought. The Batter only sighed back, not even having the strength for words.

And so, the purifier, with no one left and covered in his own blood, closed his eyes and died with a frown.

Everybody's eyes linger on the man that crusaded across the world. The man that ended three Zones and almost ended it all. Zacharie put his sword away, murmuring something about Sugar. The Batter's two remaining ex-teammates did not feel pity. Epsilon, in fact, refocused on Omega, and Alpha had to calm her down. As for the Judge, he reflected on the Batter's goals; he hated what the Batter wanted, but he had to admit, the Batter genuinely believed that he was right, and he could honestly see why the Batter would believe that ending the world was the only course of action.

The world was awful, full of specters and suffering. Dedan indeed created stressful lives that caused Elsen to become Burnt at an alarming pace. The peacefulness of Japhet's Zone couldn't prepare its people for when an actual threat appeared. He himself didn't see what was going on with Enoch, but the others would probably confirm that it was awful. Finally, there was the Queen, ultimately neglectful in taking care of the world and Hugo.

However, the Judge was not a defeatist.

The cat believed that there is hope. That they can rebuild the world from the ashes like before. The world may be awful, but it can be better. Together - he, Alpha, Epsilon, Zacharie, and perhaps even the survivor Elsen - they can avoid the pitfalls that the other guardians had fallen into on the road of best intentions. He believed that somewhere, over the horizon, over the rainbow, is a bright future; a world that the guardians originally dreamed of, a world without specters, a world without suffering, a world that the boy Hugo would have been happy with, a world that Omega would be proud to be in, a world that his brother would love, a world where somebody like the Batter would never go to extremes to harm.

The Judge began marching out of the room, the shopkeeper and Add-Ons following him, leaving behind the switch and the corpse of a destroyer, marching toward a new future. The Judge looked back on the remains of the old world, offering these last words:

"Hence, nothing remains, except for our regrets."

The story is now on **OFF**.

* * *

...

"...Would it ruin the mood for me to ask for payment for my healing items?" Zacharie asked as they walked down the pale hallway.

"Shut it Zacharie." Alpha complained.

"Ah, don't be so rude to him - he's our friend now." Epsilon said, still sniffling.

This will be an interesting future, the Judge thought.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**  And so, it's finally over. Apologies if this last chapter seems a bit short, but I don't know how to stretch, like, three minutes of gameplay across 5000+ words.

As you can see in the author's note in the first chapter, I thought that I could finish this story in a year. Well, here we are, more than two years later. But hey, it's all over. I started this story during my high school years and now I end it off as I head to college - a new kind of despair. Yay.

If you aren't aware, the creator of OFF, Mortis Ghost, is currently working on a comic called Dr. Cataclysm and has a Patreon. If you enjoyed OFF, I urge you to please support his endeavors. If OFF's got you interested in other RPG Maker games, I want you to go check them out. Yume Nikki (+ fangames) and Middens are my top suggestions, but there's also OFF fangames, and HOME is definitely the best one (not saying that the others are bad, though). Even though this story is over and OFF is not likely to ever have a sequel, it'd be nice for you guys to support things related to it.

Thank you for reading this story, I appreciate you!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure what possessed me to write this rewrite, but boy do I like this possession. Mr. Phantom That's Possessing Me, thank you for this.


End file.
